soniah-kamal

Us and Them. And Downtown Abbey. And Thomas the Tank Engine: Bear with me, Patience is a Virtue.

2012-02-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

Downton Abbey comes to American shores roughly four months or so after it is first telecast in Britain. For many of us used to the immediate gratification of messaging, texting, e-mails and other instants, this is a very long and very taxing wait, and now that it is being telecast in the U.S. it comes for one hour once a week. I am a period piece junkie, and Downton is a favorite and the six day wait for one paltry hour of gratification is not fun. I'm not the only one who feels this way. The most common refrain I hear is 'I can't wait for next week's episode-- I'm going to die'.
I would have died had I lived in Downton's time period, or thereabouts. On screen things move at a crazy pace (in fact one of Downton's reasons for success is its fast pace-- the camera lingers on bells and whistles but never for too long and seldom just for the sake of it)-- visitors come and go, upstairs reverts to downstairs and downstairs goes upstairs in a blink of an eye, Matthew Crawley goes from the war front to dinner parties and back again at a dizzying rate (dizzying enough for even him to point how surreal this is war/party lifestyle is), Lady Mary is to travel to London and before we know it there she is, a phone is expected and in the next scene there it is-- and so no excruciating journeys for us as we wait to arrive at our destinations, or waiting endlessly by the telephone waiting for it to ring, or waiting for a letter we've written to arrive or waiting for a letter in return; in the realm of Downton patience is a virtue: patience is the very essence of a life where waiting, waiting, and more waiting is the reality of every day. Even worse waiting without TV or cable or DVD; books sure, but not the cornucopia we are able to feast our eyes on today.
I love Downton Abbey; thank the Gods and Goddesses that I live in today.
I come from a country where reality looks a lot like Downton-- there is a downstairs and there is an upstairs-- for upstairs life is good, for downstairs not so good. As for the Lady and the Chauffeur, this might be the title of a novel the Lady might read, but it's not going to happen, Never Ever (except in the Titanic, and that's because Hollywood made it, and maybe in Downtown but that's because it is on TV). Even though traditionally it is easier for women to marry up, would a Grantham ever marry a housemaid, the cook, or the kitchen maid? And if such an event were to occur, it would take many generations for the awkwardness to be 'forgotten'. Maggie Smith's Countess of Grantham exemplifies this in her remarks on 'little people' and 'chimney sweeps'. Sure, she's grown fond of Matthew, but she has not forgotten that he is not really 'one of us'.
I suppose for our societies-in-social-flux one of the charms, if you will, of Downton is to watch a bunch of people who 'know their place and, moreover, accept it' but then, to excite our modern sensibilities, rebel against it too-- will they succeed in their aspirations, and if so, how well. Equally exciting is watching the Upstairs having to come to terms with the likes of Matthew's Mum, Isobel Crawley, I mean a world which sees itself on equal terms and not lesser (of course Isobel and Matthew are 'middle class' and not really servants).
Of course Britain is still class ridden (and classes exists in the U.S. as much as everyone would like to think that we're all the same-- of course there is opportunity everywhere to make your money but the class your born into 'helps' here too-- being born to a doctor versus a house cleaner even today makes a world of difference); this class consciousness is visible in British kid's programs too. Watch any episode of Thomas the Tank Engine and there will be mention of trains growing too big for their buffers, and trains have to be learn their proper place, and trains have to be kept in place for everything to work smoothly. Forgive my analogy but Downton is easily just another train station where the Steamies and the Diesels are beginning to butt buffers.
Judith Newman reviews three books for the New York Times about the 'real' Downton Abbey, that is one about all the (TV) people who lived there, and one about those in service, and one about those who required service. (see below also for titles of all three books)

From Margaret Powell's 'Below Stairs'.

“We always called them ‘Them,’ ” Powell writes. “ ‘Them’ was the enemy, ‘Them’ overworked us, and ‘Them’ underpaid us, and to ‘Them,’ servants were a race apart, a necessary evil.”

This quote reminded me very much of Pakistan. Although Powell says this about Upstairs, in Pakistan the gentle folk Upstairs also also call Powell and her ilk 'Them'. In Pakistan the gentle folk upstairs complain about how irritating Them are and how keeping Them on track is a full time job in itself; in Pakistan today, the two 'Thems' bristle at each other across a great divide, and I'm sure this would have been the case at many a Downton Abbey were it not for the fact that in Downton's time staying in one's place was a matter of honor and not merely economics. A society where the Upstairs bathrooms are bigger and better than the double/triple occupancy bedrooms of Downstairs is a society doomed; a completely equal society is a dreamer's Utopia but societies with such glaring differences are an all too real Dystopia.
I suppose it is a paradox that a Downton Abbey set in today's world would be unbearable to watch while a Downton Abbey of yesteryear can't be telecast soon enough.

The three books reviewed by Judith Newman are

Below the Stairs by Margaret Powell.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon

The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes (Jessica Fellowes is the niece of Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey. For an outstanding treat watch Gosford Park and then re-watch with Julian Fellowes' commentary)

Shalom Auslander. 'Hope: A Tragedy'. Is it really?

2012-01-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

As a child I remember reading Enid Bylton's allegorical novel 'The Land of Far Beyond." I loved it. At the end of the novel, the main characters are asked what is most important 'Love, Faith, or Hope?' No matter what answer the novel deemed right, for me the answer was always hope. Shalom Auslander would think I was a real fool to vote for hope. But then he would think me a fool had I gone with either love or faith. For the witty Auslander the world seems faithless, loveless and hopeless; his short story collection Beware of God seemed to caution against love, and his memoir Foreskin's Lament against faith, his debut novel Hope: A Tragedy cautions as well as investigates the precarious nature of hope and why one might precariously cling to it.

"You buy a handgun--for protection, you say-- and drop dead that night from a heart attack. You put locks on your doors. You put bars on your windows. You put gates around your house. The doctor phones" It's cancer, he says. Swimming frantically up to the surface to escape from a menacing shark, you get the bends and drown."

Auslander is nothing if not the king of black humor; it's his saving grace since you better be able to elicit chuckles if you're going to write a novel narrated by a chronic worry wort who finds, of all people, a witch-like Anne Frank hiding in his attic and trying to churn out a bestseller to top her bestseller of bestsellers. Certainly Auslander has no time for sacred cows and pushes every button he possibly can. There are riffs on gas chambers, cattle cars, products made of people, being gravely injured but not yet dead at the top or bottom of a mass grave, a visit to a concentration camp: 'Are there ovens at least? The trip shouldn't be a total waste?'
A while back I attended a talk given by Yann Martel on his novel 'Beatrice and Virgil', a Holocaust allegory, at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. The discussion that followed was a bit volatile since many in the audience felt that Martel had stepped on a sacred cow. I wonder what would happen were Auslander speaking at such a venue? Would the audience be just as upset or a little less since Auslander was brought up an orthodox Jew? But who else could 'get away' with making a minor mockery of Anne Frank and what she stands for if not a Jew, and is this fair? (Fairness an expectation I'm sure Auslander would have plenty of things to say about). One could also ask why someone would want to get away with something like that; but then why not-- and Auslander explores in full honesty the implications of 'sacred cows'.
Auslander's prose is crisp and flows very well, as does the plot which hinges on the protagonist coming to terms with hope at different stages of his life. The novel also features a woman who believes she was in the Holocaust and her tale makes for an arresting case of survivor's guilt. I would have liked to know what happens to the wife and son at the end of the novel, but they just disappear, and perhaps their disappearance is intended, perhaps all I'm meant to do is wonder if they survive and hope that they do.

Stamina. Is this the secret to getting where you want to be? asks Alexander Chee

2012-01-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

"“What do you think, having taught writers for a while, is the thing that makes the big difference? What separates the students who go on to become writers from the students who don’t?”

“Stamina,” I said, very quickly. Persistence is the gift that brings all the others. I know many writers with a great deal of talent who do not write. Art is not fair, it is not democratic, it has no court of appeals. Talent is not equally apportioned, but luckily it also doesn’t matter as much as stamina. There is little science to it all that is reliable except that I have seen persistence carry the day over talent again and again."
read the entire blog post here

Says Alexander Chee, author of the thought provoking debut novel 'Edinburgh'. It spoke to me. I keep meeting people who say they have a book and that one day they will write it. I also meet people who say they have a book and write even if its only one line a day. Both sets of people have day jobs and kids and doubts and other interruptions, yet guess who will end up having written their story?
And the secret might very well be stamina-- to write your book, to get through life, to get through rejection, to get through yet another draft when you thought the last draft was perfect.

Madonna and Me and Saudi Arabia

2012-01-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

Last year I was browsing the internet when I came upon a call for submissions for essays on Madonna at Literary Mama for an anthology called 'Madonna and Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop'. My stomach plummeted-- yes, I have a Madonna story, do I have a Madonna story, I've had my Madonna story ever since my early teens and always meant to tell it one day and here was an opportunity--and plummeted even more when I saw that the deadline was a day or so away.
I literally put a hold on everything I was doing until the essay was done and I pressed send and it was gone to its fate. How I hoped it would fare well. Madonna meant a lot to me, and even now a single song of hers can transport me back to the confused little girl I used to be in Saudi Arabia wondering if the world was mad or they were right and I was mad. How I hoped and hoped that my tale would make it; how ridiculously thrilled I upon receiving editor Laura Barcella's acceptance e-mail.
I'm in such august company!! And Madonna and Me comes out March 13, 2012. You can order your copy here and here. And you can also win a free copy here.

Honestly I cannot wait to set my eyes on each and every essay.

Debut Novelists and Expectations.

2012-01-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

I came across a wonderful website where Natalia Sylvester interviews debut novelists about their experiences from first book contract to publication date. In 2011 Rebecca Rasmussen, author of 'The Bird Sisters' talks of whether any novel is 'quiet'. Jael Mchenry, author of 'The Kitchen Daughter' tells how her editor edited and how the cover was chosen. Sarah Jio, author of 'The Violets of March' relates the difference between writing her first and second novel. Camille Noe Pagan, author of 'The Art of Forgetting' gives blogging advice. Brandi Lynn Ryder, author of 'In Malice, Quite Close', discusses her experience with the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. Samuel Park, author of 'This Burns My Heart' gives a great definition of literary fiction as well a turning novels into film and getting blurbs. Erika Mark, author of 'Little Gale Gumbo' talks about simultaneously writing two books. Keith Cronin, author of 'Me Again', talks of the importance of learning to talk about your book and the incredible way writers help writers.

An added bonus: Natalia follows up with authors to find out what they're up to now.

As a fun exercise which novels which titles from the ones above would you snap off the shelf? Do the titles you choose veer towards themes you are more likely to find in your own writing?

Getting Published after Forty Years of Rejection: Mary Glickman at the MJCCA

2011-11-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

I had the great pleasure of listening to authors Mary Glickman and Amy Waldman at the wonderful Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. Amy Waldman is the brilliant author of the must-read, beyond brilliant novel The Submission (more on this novel in another post). The Submission is a debut novel and has soared in a way that all novels, debut or otherwise, dream of soaring. The Submission is, as Mary Glickman would say, 'the right idea at the right time' (of course even right ideas at the right time have to be well executed to get anywhere). Mary Glickman is the author of eight novels, but she is the published author of two, Home in the Morning and One More River.
Mary's first six novels garnered forty years of rejection; that she plugged on is a measure of the tenacity most writers require if they want to get published (there is also the tenacity required in the face of finally getting published, but to no fanfare, but that is another blog post.
Mary's tenacity truly blew me away. Here is her inspiring story of how she got her agent and the secret to continue creating/writing when the publishing end is not working out ; the secret that all of us know: love the very act of writing, of story telling, and the rest will eventually follow.

"WHAT KEPT ME GOIN’
They say you are what you do. Each time I failed, I rolled up my sleeves and started over. Somewhere in there ambition took a back seat and the joy of writing sat up next to me in the catbird one. I was a writer. I had to write. It was what I did.
Rejection—especially 40 years of it—hurts. I’m sorry, Cynthia, it’s not a little death; it’s more like the devastation of plague or flood. But it only hurts oceans if you’re waiting idly when it comes. If you’re working on something new, the new thing is a buffer, it protects you, it gives you fresh hope. The Buddha was right. It’s the process not the goal that sustains you. Trust me.
HOW THE DAM BURST
When I wrote Home in the Morning, I wrote it to please myself. There were reasons I shouldn’t have written it at all. It’s about Southern Jews during the civil rights era. I was born and raised Catholic Yankee. It’s plotted in a nonlinear fashion. Its point of view is an innovation of sorts. I don’t use quotation marks for speech. All risky business for the unpublished. But I enjoyed writing it as I’d never enjoyed writing before.
When it was done, I thought about getting a new agent. Yes, I still had the same agent I’d had back in ’76. I was fond of her, she of me, but I’d nearly 40 years proof we weren’t such a hot match. I was terrified" read rest here.

Review of 'Perfect Peace' by Daniel Black

2011-07-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

I began Daniel Black's novel 'Perfect Peace' last night and could not put it down. In 1940s Arkansas Emma Jean gives birth to her sixth son but so desperate is she for a daughter that she lies to everyone that the boy is a girl, a 'girl' she names Perfect. This lie continues till Perfect's eighth birthday.

Black has written a rivetting novel about identity, gender, sexuality and above all flawed parents, their confused children and small town mentality. 'Perfect Peace' (the names in this novel are delicious as is the chapter delineating how each son got his name) raises some very interesting questions about parental obligations and the far reaching legacy of abuse. Had Emma Jean's mother loved her even a little bit would she have been as desperate to cherish a daughter as she herself was never cherished? Had her sisters been a little nicer might they have saved her from herself? Had Gus been a little less worried about community might Perfect's transition have been a little easier for everyone? Had King Solomon's (by far my favorite character) dreams truly broken could he too have entered into the spiral of abuse?

Emma Jean's mother is a thoroughly believable monster whose poisonous spirit informs every page of the novel as does Emma Jean's struggle between hating her mother and desperately wanting to love her and be loved by her. Can people really ever heal from wounds inflicted by parents? Can siblings affection truly be a balm? Can people honestly find happiness once they 'choose' to settle into lives they know they will regret? Since Emma Jean was herself a victim of 'favoratism' should she have known not to pick and choose amongst her own children? Can a 'sorry' really heal all ills? What sort of a person can and cannot live with regrets?

Black has employed the interesting stylistic device of interrupting a character's present story in order to divulege their future; no doubt for a reader who wants to get to the end only at the end and not in media res this will be very irritating, however, once I got used to this tic I enjoyed it but only because Black prose flows very well and his characters are full and rich. There is so much in this novel-- child abuse, incest, rape, madness, domestic violence, mean spiritedness, shadenfreude,-- which could have been heavy handed and yet is all the more terrible for Black showing these things through his characters rather than harping on about these ills. I loved the way children innocently told each other how Daddies and Mummies behave. As for the explorations of why it is 'happier' to be a girl rather than a boy and that too a pretty girl, they are pitch perfect and heart breaking. I was also rivetted by the explorations of what it means to be a 'pretty boy' or an 'ugly girl' and how these description, true or not, can mold one's character.

I would have liked more of an ending to Perfect/Paul's story as well as that of Mister and Johnny Ray and King Solomon but is it really a flaw when the reader wants the story to never end?

Indian film 'Delhi Belly': a review.

2011-07-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

I'd sworn not to watch 'Delhi Belly'. Someone had told me it was the Indian version of 'The Hangover.' I disliked the film 'The Hangover'. The ludicrous scenarios, the scratching of potbellys, the cliched Chinese characters; nothing made me laugh, everything made me groan. I did not want to sit through another Hangover and certainly not an Indian version of it.

'Delhi Belly', a film by Aamir Khan, is anything but a remake or version of 'The Hangover'. Sure there are three guys and one of them has a potbelly and no qualms about farting, and yes the three guys find themselves in ludicrous situations doing ridiculous things but 'Delhi Belly' is a smart and sassy film, a film where everything within the context makes sense and every character, even the minor ones such as a room service waiter, is given intelligent treatment (though the soon-to-be-exhubby's antics are a little over the top). True 'Delhi Belly' boasts a curse a second and gratuitous cursing makes me very uncomfortable as do sex scenes just for the sake of them in which case they are sleaze scenes but in this case the swearing seemed natural to the characters and fitting to the scenes as did the sexual stuff. In fact I was surprised by how much I laughed and how charmed I was by this film where pottys and potty and potty humor play a starring role. The brilliant acting by everyone, the seamless editing, the edgy, grimy cinamatography, the exciting score, the funny lyrics, the fantastic script, the very opening sequence which sets the viewer on squemish edge to the over the top 'item number' at the end-- everything comes together to provide an exquisitive experience. But I truly dread to think of the dreadful copy cat movies that will follow this gem because humor of this sort can so easily go disgustingly wrong.
Indian cinema is becoming a treat to watch these days with smart commercial films like Om Shanti Om, Jab We Met, Baand Baja Baarat, Luck by Chance, Rang de Basanti, 3 Idiots and now 'Delhi Belly.' 'Delhi Belly' is the first Indian film in English and yes 'Delhi Belly' does refer to a mean diarrhea caused by less than hygenic food. The faint of heart will certainly think this is a less than hygenic and more than distasteful movie, and please it is NOT for kids of any age, but as my friends and I left the theatre we thought it was smart, solid entertainment. I'd sworn not to watch 'Delhi Belly' but I got roped into it and am I glad I did!

Passing, Ageism and Being Your True Self

2011-07-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

"Everyone has some point at which they think that, all things considered, it's not that in those circumstances lying isn't wrong, it's just that telling the truth would be so much worse. I am the SS. Do you have any Jews in your cellar? Does anyone think the right answer is yes, if it's true?" Appiah went , "But I do think there is a separate issue with identity questions. If you are asked directly to reveal your deepest sense of who you are, it's particularly difficult not toe tell the truth. This is especially true in the free world, in the modern world, because we have this idea that you have the right to express your identity in the social world. And that one of the things that's wrong with the situations that force people to pass."

"Black for white passing first brought the Americanism passing into use...passing looks a lot different in our time than it did in the pre-civil rights days..."

from Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are by Brooke Kroeger, 2003

In 'Passing: When People Can't be Who They Are', Brooke Kroeger explores people who pass in our socially less rigid times for who they are not and yet feel they must be in order to reap advantages otherwise unavailable to them. Where once upon a time blacks and Jews needed to pass as white or gentiles to lead better lives and often to save their lives, today the modern-day passers Kroeger writes about are predominantly homosexuals whose lives might not be threatened but whose opportunties and dreams certainly are e.g. a gay Jew who want to become a Rabbi, a lesbian Naval officer referred to as the Careerist in the book because even after retirement she cannot come out of 'hiding/passing' on risk of being Court Martialed and losing her pension built upon twenty years of service. However there are other instances in the book, for example the Walt Whitman Award winning poet/Village Voice pop music critic who, in order to write his criticisms takes on the pseudonym of a woman simply because the 'authentic voice' comes to him in the persona of Jane Dark. When he was 'outed', the persons that he'd 'lied' to seemed less offended/upset, if at all, than he was upset with himself. Society accepted his 'deceit/pretense/alter ego/fluid identity' call it what you will while he himself seemed to find society's blatant okayness problematic...
In Pakistan-- a group oriented society where being an individual, or at least radically different, is routinely discouraged-- the one instance of 'passing' that seems to be fairly rampant and socially acceptable if not even encouraged is women-- and even many men-- liberally lying about their age. It is nothing for women, especially if they are single (unmarried has such ugly connotations, no?) to routinely present themselves as at least five years younger than they really are. In fact so insidious is this practice that most people automatically tack on an extra-three to five years to a girl's age.
Which is highly irritating for the likes of me who actually do tell the truth and do not see the merits of passing for younger and frankly couldn't careless. And yet...and yet...in Pakistan and amongst Pakistanis I routinely find myself avoiding answering questions about my age for the sake of family and friends because apparently not only will I ruin their lives if the truth comes out, at the very least I will humiliate them and make them the recipient of smug looks from those whose ages will not be outed because they don't have foolish friends or relatives like me. Passing for younger seems a game the entire country plays even when they know how old someone really is. In Pakistan, where society is such a small milieu, it is quite impossible to not know the real ages of the girls suddenly who are suddenly years younger than you. Come on! Girl! Guy! We know you are close to forty and not the thirty you purport to be and please no need to take out your passport or other ID with Date-of-Birth to verify the truth of your lies. But this is the way in a country where marriage prospects are eons better if one is younger on account, you see, of ovaries apparently going defunct pass age twenty, and in a world where prospects in general seem better the younger one is. If one person breaks the chain, I am warned, we all fall down and that will not do. So for your collective malaise I'm to sacrifice my individual rights? This will not do. I would like to tell the truth, and, guilty, I do. Only to be glared at by family and friends: what purpose can telling your real age possibly serve? Well, the only purpose that faking one's age serves is perpetuating the myth that youth is fairer and lovelier, and perpetuating the a poisonous culture wherein 'there is a prime for woman' after which she dulls and fades and may as well hide her face and die...
Who has not sat through a movie where a perfectly lovely heroine has been maligned with comments such as 'boori ho gayee hai, thakhi wee lag rahee hai, uus kee Ma lag rahee hai ', she looks aged, she looks tired, she looks like his mother'. I had the pleasure during a recent trip to Pakistan to watch, with a group, the Indian film 'Bhoothnath' starring Amitabh Bachan, Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. Part way into the movie, the men, all around forty years of age, began confirming with each other that indeed Juhi was looking older, much older, indeed she had become decrepit, Shahrukh kee Maa lag rahi hai. The women at the gathering are all thirty plus or younger and they all glance at each other almost guiltily, all perhaps wondering what I was wondering. Really? said I out loud. Shahrukh kee Ma lag rahi hai, is it? You men are welcome to your opinion but pray, do tell, from where exactly does Juhi look old? Because I think she looks bloody gorgeous. Better than any of you any day. And how come she looks old enough for you to merit comment but Amitabh Bachan who is old enough to be her Daddy jee and looks it never-the-less merits not a single comment from the collective-you. I suppose Sean Connery, and Clint Eastwood, and Robert Redford, and Mel Gibson playing strapping, nubile heroes are perfectly kosher with y'all even if they should be babysitting their leading lady rather than romancing her. I am told in, all good humor of course, that I'm insane, and while in Pakistan to shut up and please get with the program and once I return to America (where these gender double standards exist in Hollywood too) to shout out my feelings from the rooftops. And yet, as more popcorn and Sprite and Black Label is brought out, the men do look sheepish and the women decidedly smug even if, come tomorrow, they'll be telling me not be insane, not to under any circumstances, force them into a corner by divulging my real age.

The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt

2011-06-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

An engaging anthology with consistently good, thought provoking writing is an elusive creature which is why 'The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt' edited by Ruth Andrew Ellenson is such a treat. The women in here are guilty, some of wanting Christmas trees, others of not keeping kosher and yet others of not getting married at all, or to the right man, or of not wanting kids. These are universal enough issues of individual desires against traditional demands, however what makes this such a worthy anthology is how sensitively and deeply the writers have written about their problems. Here there are no cliched statements threaded together leading to trite happy-happy-joy-joy endings. The first essay I turned to was 'Great, My Daughter is Marrying a Nazi' by Jenna Kalinsky. Jenna fell in love and married a German who is obviously not a Nazi and yet, half a century after the Holocaust, history defines the terms of their relationship be it the form of the people she meets in Germany all too eager to welcome her or the signs and monuments about what happened to the Jews at this particular spot. Jenna's essay deals with memory and how to move on when everything around you wants you to do the opposite. Jenna's writing is so candid, so probing that her voice and her experiences merit a full memoir on this topic which I for one would be eager to read. I think were an essay on Israel and Palestine included in this anthology it would have been the far richer for it, as it is, the scattered mentionings of the issue and the guilt it evokes, make the absence all the more glaring. Another fantastic essay on land and home and loyalty and identity is Ayelet Waldman's 'Land of My Father' in which Waldman explores her feelings for Israel and America and which one is really home. Gina Nahai's thought provoking essay 'Mercy' delves into the relationship between her Jewish-Iranian grandmother and French-Catholic grandmother and their influences on her life. In 'Big Mouth: Jewish Women and Appetite', Wendy Shanker begins her gorgeous exploration of body image and what fat really implies with a Japanese Reiki practioner asking her 'Why are all Jewish woman so fat?' And in 'Spot the Jew', Baz Dreisinger continues the conversation about self worth and what it means to fit a stereotype: "Looking back now, I see that my high and mighty attitude was simply a way of dealing with the beauty standards of Jewish high school-- which, I'm told, are as straightforward today as they were back in the 90s. In my high school, the more 'un-Jewish' you looked, the more beautiful you were. White was right; Jew was P-U. That meant culry hair was a no; kinky hair a no-no; and blow dryers, and absolute necessity. Short or shapely was unflattering; flat and long, stunning. Any girl who had miraculously managed to be blonde-- even dirty blonde, even boosted-by-a-bottle-blonde-- had the whole school at her pseudo-shiksa feet." This particular passage reminded me of Toni Morrison's novel 'The Bluest Eye', as well as all the girls I know, no matter where they are originally from, going into paraxosyms over how beautiful it is to have little or no butt or breasts i.e. being flat and tall. And that is the beauty of all these essays; to see one's own guilt, worries and many, many affirmations reflected within. Yes the girls in these essays are guilty, but that does not mean that all guilt is debilating or wrong; indeed guilt is good and this is a worthy guide to get you there.

Visiting India After Many Many Years

2011-06-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

"Where are you going for the summer?"
"Nowhere! Just back home".
For those of us who visit 'back-home' every year, we soon grow weary of the same journey back into time; it becomes routine rather than an adventure.

Sound familiar? Which is why a fresh eye on such a sojourn makes the weary pep up too. One fresh eye belongs to my lovely friend and writing buddy Anjali Sydow who recently took a trip to India with her family after a nineteen year gap. Anjali is chronicling her journey from Agra to Bangalore to Madras with pretty pictures and ha-ha captions on her blog 'She Started It'. Do give it a read!

Kitchen Sink Realism and Holly Goddard Jones

2011-02-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

Chapter 16 interviews one of my favorite authors, Holly Goddard Jones. I'm crazy about her short story collection 'Girl Trouble.' Apparently her style is 'kitchen sink realism'. Good to know this is the style that makes me melt. Kitchen sink realism is fiction about regional, blue collar America. I'm not blue collar America, and think I have always, in all respects, been far away from regional. But these stories speak to me, ruin me even, in that each character no matter how 'regional' is tackling issues which are ridiculously universal, issues which pierce the human heart and draw blood no matter who you are and which social rung you hang your beret. Goddard's characters, as she says in this interview, over think and are aware of their problems: that's means they're smart but they are also sad. And few characters are as satisfying to spend time with than those who are smart but sad. Goddard does use alot of exposition in her stories, more 'tell' and less 'show' but, for me, her telling has a psycological depth that is phenomenally nuanced and more satisfying to read than a million pages of showing.

Egypt, Revolution, Democracy and How it is Done

2011-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

Mabrook Egypt! And Tunisia too (talk about ripple effects!) Liberty, the struggle for and the attainment of, is just as exciting and intoxicating for those like myself sitting on a couch and watching TV/internet all these many days. So heady to hear hope and pride and sheer happiness and amazement. It ignites life in all of us despite the rough logistical road ahead. To finally see the women joining the men in Tahrir Square is pure joy! It is also very interesting how modern technology was put to use in this freedom struggle.
I am not Arab but I feel so proud. I slept to Mubarek causing confusion and delay and woke to him finally stepping down. I wonder who's crying more, he or his opportunistic wife? But it's not just Mr. and Ms. Hosni Mubarek who will have to learn to lead a new life. Real change in Egypt will come when the military and the police learn how to live in a democracy and use their gun power to protect the people rather than terrorize them into obedience.
As for coverage: I think CNN U.S. did a decent job (CNN International has excellent coverage and may as well be from a different world than CNN U.S.-- unfortunately CNN International not offered to U.S. viewers). FOX News proved to be ridiculous once again since it couldn't stop talking about the Muslim Brotherhood. Al Jazeera rocked and ruled. It is shame that U.S. cable networks claim they do not carry Al-Jazeera English because there is not enough demand. Really we American viewers are being deprived of excellent news coverage and need to demand that it be offered as it already is in Ohio, Vermont and D.C. (You will learn more about the world watching five minutes of Al-Jazeera than you will watching five years of any U.S. news channel).

As for the U.S. and democracy -- this is how democracy comes to dawn. Today in Egypt's Tahir Square celebrators celebrate with fire, with flame, with waving flags. I think back to Iraq and feel sad. I think back to Iraq and that horrid day when Iraq's night skies were lit up with 'shock and awe.' This is how deomocracy comes to dawn, U.S. lest you forget.

Black Swan- the film

2011-02-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

Most people advocate some sort of art project for the repressed to loosen up and get in touch with thier deeper self and in this stead dance is often a highly recommended activity. In 'Black Swan' Natalie Portman's character Nina is a ballet dancer and like all dedicated ballerinas, ballet dancing is all she does. Unfortunately instead of her art loosening Nina up it seems to have turned her into a nuerotic individual who has no friends (not that oodles of friends are necessarily a sign of a healthy personality, but she has not a single one) and no interests other than becoming the lead dancer before she becomes too old (what a more interesting film this may have been had more been made of this issue). Nina's dream comes true when she is cast as the Swan Queen in 'Swan Lake', a casting which will have her dancing both the part of the good White Swan and the bad Black Swan who seduces the White Swan's paramour. Nina dances the part of the White Swan perfectly but lecherous choreographer Thomas is unhappy with her depiction of the Black Swan and urges her to loosen up, to 'live a little'. How Nina lives a little and can or cannot handle it is the subject of this film. And how does Nina 'live a little'? Why in the most tritest of tropes available-- by having sex of course! With boys and girls and oneself. Nina proceeds to shed some repression by going clubbing, popping a pill, making out in a bathroom, having (or dreaming of) a lesbian experience, and even finally finding out what her fingers were made for. Much has been made of how Nina's monster mother is responsible for neurosis and, indeed, Nina's mother is a very controlling lady: she still brushes the grown Nina's hair, tucks her into bed, sweetly denigrates her ambition and talent, expects Nina to fulfill her own thwarted dreams, threatens to throw away a cake when Nina does not want a slice, and of course dictates her comings and goings. But, as monstrous as this mother may be she is all too recognisable a mother for many of us from Pakistan and India and so I was not too shocked by her emotional blackmailing or dictatorial proclamations. And while in India and Pakistan it is marriage that may finally free a daughter from a tyrannical mother, in 'Black Swan' it is Nina being cast as the lead. Once she is the Swan Queen Nina does begin to blossom in so far that she begins to stand up to her mother (how much more of an interesting film this would have been had more been made of this issue). Of the two elements I did enjoy in this otherwise stale film one was Natalie Portman's incredible acting as well as that of her rival played by Mila Kunis and second the few truly shriek-out-loud moments caused by gross, painful depictions of the human body be it muscles undulating under skin or skin fusing together. No doubt there will be more films about dancers and their repressed personalities and this time might even be told from the point of view of a male dancer and might turn out to be the fresh, exciting film that 'Black Swan' is not and could not have been as long as sexual adventure-- good or bad-- is touted as being the panacea which will save the world or at the very least repressed individuals.

ps. when it comes to monstrous screen mothers, the religious nut mother in the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel 'Carrie' still takes the cake

pps. religion is not the panacea either

Barry Udall, The Lonely Polygamist, Immigrants and Fleas

2010-05-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Barry Udall's novel 'The Lonely Polygamist' is getting raves for its sensitive portrayal of a polygamist who has an affair, and the trials and tribulations of his lonely wives and even lonelier children. And it is sensitive. And well written, especially the parts about grief incurred by successive miscarriages and the death of children. With all this sensitivity going for it, I'm finding it very hard to come up with excuses for the following passage. But, really, is there any excuse good enough, or of value, in likening immigrants to fleas?

By the time he made it to St. George, the fleas had begun to stir. They'd
been laying low, like immigrants getting used to the neighborhood, but now that
they'd acclimated, picked up on the local language and customs, they were on the
move and causing trouble. Anywhere there was hair, they congregated: in the vast
prairies on his cheeks and belly and the forest that covered his scalp. In
particular they seemed to be making themselves comfortable in the crack of his
ass.
page 413 hardcover.
As my nine year old would say 'this is just wrong!' Excreable, more like it. How did this odious passge bypass an agent and an editor and the many readers before it arrived in stores.
Of course, I read the novel, but no matter how good a work, it is not going to convert me into being comfortable with polygamy, be it Mormon or Muslim. The last chapter in The Lonely Polygamist where a fifth wife joins the fold in a marriage ceremony, certainly pushes quite a few buttons.

What the fuck is wrong with Faisal Shezad?

2010-05-10T02:16:00.001-07:00

Faisal Shezad swore the pledge of allegiance to the U.S., then turned around and put a bomb in Times Square. Really, what is wrong with people like him? I say people like him because he is not people like me, though many in the U.S. might see us as the same: he's from Pakistan, I'm from Pakistan. He lived in the States. I live in the States. He is Muslim. I'm from a Muslim background. And yet Mr. Stupid Shezad and I are universes apart. So, like other humans watching Mr. Shezad's stupidity unfold on TV, I want to know exactly what is wrong with Mr. Stupid Shezad?

Please don't say he's angry at America. Or that America deserves it. Or that he's disillusioned. Or that America deserves it. If you really want to change the world, or do something about anger towards American foreign policy or Starbucks' ridiculous coffee prices there has to be a better way then boming Times Square or any Square.

It actually makes me very angry that Mr. Shezad applied for citizenship and got it then abused it. If you're pissed about the state of Pakistan, please, get out of the U.S, return to Pakistan and stay there and do something about poverty, education and no electricity. Spreading terror in your recently adopted country is not going to help the mess your birth country is in. Seriously between the likes of Faisal Shezad and the recent Arizona immigration laws whereby the good and fair police can stop anyone who looks like an illegal worker (does this include blonde, blue eyed and white-- if so then I've got nothing to worry about), the likes of me is not happy with the birth country or the adopted country.

Here are two very excellent points of view on Stupid Shezad.

Wajahat Ali in Salon writes about what Mr. Stupid Shezad's actions mean for American-Pakistani-Muslims

Professor Hoodbhoy in Dawn writes about what the fuck is wrong with Mr. Stupid Shezad and why the Pakistan's penchant for blaming America just doesn't cut it and is mostly wrong

Perinatal loss- a father's tale

2010-03-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

Today I recieved my perinatal loss newsletter Caring and Coping published by Northside Hospital in Georgia. It's been three years since I lost my four month old in utero, but he lives in my heart as a soft, pearly cartilgeous little face with perfectly formed ears. I was alone in my loss. No one could understand why I was so devastated since 'it was only a fetus'. Today's newsletter includes a poem I want to share.

A Father's Grief

(Author Unknown)

It must be very difficult

To be a man in grief,

Since 'men don't cry'

and 'men are strong.'

No tears can bring relief.

It must be very difficult

To stand up to the test,

and field the calls and visitors

So she can get some rest.

They always ask if she's all right

And what she is going through.

But seldom to they take his hand,

'My friend, but how are you?'

He hears her crying in the night

And thinks his heart will break.

he dries her tears and comforts her,

but 'stays strong' for her sake.

It must be very difficult

To start each day anew

And try to be so very brave-

He lost his baby- too.

Holly Goddard Jones and her short story collection 'Girl Trouble'

2010-02-14T14:02:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I recieved my Guernica issue update. In the features section writer Claire Messud showcases the work of seven female writers: Chimamanda Adichie, Sefi Atta, Holly Goddard Jones, Elliott Holt, Porochista Khakpour, Lorraine Adams, and Hasanthika Sirisena. I was already a fan of some of the writers such as Chimamanda Adichie and Lorraine Adams (whose story 'Zalzala' is set in Pakistan), however I had not heard of many others.

I began reading the stories in sequence. First Adichie, then Atta, next Holly Goddard Jones' story Suspension. As I began it I thought, oh no not another high school drama between the good looking and the not so good looking, but, the more I read, the more my initial presumption was replaced by sheer awe. It is about high school and the good looking and the not so good looking, yet the hard, fast, elegant prose delivers a story that will cling to your soul.

I so very much wanted more of Ms. Jones that I put on hold reading the remaining Guernica stories and began a feverish googling.

Holly Goddard Jones has a website. She has two doggies. And a short story collection 'Girl Trouble'. The stories are set in Roma, Kentucky, USA and are about unremarkable humans remarkable for surviving ordinary ups and downs, and sometimes terrible tragedies. Holly's story telling skills are extraordinary, and her characters fiercely masculine and harshly female, simply humans you can recognise no matter where you live.

A few stories are on line. Good Girl. Life Expectancy. Parts. Apparently, Parts has much revised for her the final published collection and since I couldn't wait to read the re-vision, I braved the snow falling outside and went to buy 'Girl Trouble'. I have read some fantastic books over the last many months; Girl Troubles is uberfantastic. Run, sprint, leap to get your copy, and then settle down to be smitten.

P.S. Holly discusses her writing process.

The Death of a Domestic Maid/Help/Serf

2010-01-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

The death of 12-year-old Shazia, who worked as domestic help for an
affluent Lahore family accused of beating her frequently, is a crime on multiple
levels. According to the autopsy report, Shazia died as a result of severe
physical torture. The police have now taken into custody the principal accused
and three members of his family who were nominated in the FIR, as well as the
couple who originally put the family in touch with Shazia. It is hoped that the
case is investigated speedily and thoroughly, for delays will cause the young
victim’s family further anguish.... Representative of the manner in which
Pakistan fails to protect the most vulnerable of its citizens, Shazia’s death
ought to serve as a wake-up call.
from the Dawn Editorial- 26 Jan 2010

The death of a domestic maid at the hands of her employers serving as a wake up call to the law and to the people; I fear that will not be the case. Rather, those who can afford maids (in countries such as Pakistan, labor is so cheap even middle class famlies can afford round the clock servants) will tut-tut and pat themselves on the back about how nice they are, after all they never beat their servants. In fact the employers will go one up and talk about how it is they, the affluent, who are at risk of being cheated/murdered by their servants.

In Pakistan, maids are referred through word of mouth, and once employed, the norm is for the maid to move into her employer's house where she works from the dawn till dusk-- no 9 to 5 here-- and is allowed a day off once a month, and even that, at times, begrudingly.

At times the 'maid' in question is as young as the children she is employed to look after, and so a ten year old will be serving dinner to another ten year old cum friends who are watching cartoons without a care in the world.

An educated maid is often viewed by both their mother and Mistress alike as just a big headache, no doubt because education increases their expectations from life. In any case, sending a maid to school is considered a waste of money by her parents. Sooner or later, the maid's destiny is to get married and have children (that this is the preffered destiny for all women in Pakistan does not breed any solidarity between Maids and Mistresses because the social distance between them is too vast). Once she is married off, if the former maid does need to work outside her house and become the breadwinner (reasons often include her husband turning to narcotics or running off) she can always get employment as a maid while her own children are looked after by extended family.

I am not suggesting that employers are devils and maids are angels. Of course some steal, others cheat, and yet others shirk their responsibilities. A common complaint is the maid who swears to return from her vacation only to not do so and therby leave her employer in a lurch. Never the less, no matter what lurch a maid leaves one in, at the end of the day, it is she who is powerless.

In Pakistan, all maids, let alone the live-in maid, is literally at the mercy of her employers. Some employers are unkind, others are not, and whether a servant gets employed by the kind or unkind is nothing more than the luck of the draw, fate, kismet. Even the kindest of employers can turn deadly if the right buttons are pushed, buttons which are pushed easily in a clime where the class structure is rigid and, from poweless to powerful, an impossible chasm.

Following is an even more appalling report of the last days of twelve year old Shazia Bashir:

SLMP chief coordinator Sohail Johnson said the girl worked under constant
stress and experienced emotional and psychological trauma. She was also denied
the agreed salary (Rs 1,000 or about US$ 12 per month).
Shazia “would get
insults whenever she raised the subject of payment,” the Christian activist
said. Three days before her death, her employer tortured her, he noted.
Afterwards, he tried to have her treated at his home without informing the
parents of her health situation. In the end, the medical care she did get proved
inadequate and she had to go to Lahore’s Meo Hospital.

Discovering J California Cooper and Family

2010-01-08T14:39:00.001-08:00

Until joining my African-American book club I had not heard of author J. California Cooper even though she is the winner of a National Book Award for Homemade Love (1989). Why is this? After all I'm fully aware of story tellers such as Toni Morrison, Edward P Jones, Terri McMillan, E Lynn Harris. Bebe Moore Campbell etc... Have I been living under a rock? In any case, I have been reading her first novel Family, published in 1991, and I am swept away. On the face of it, this novella is about slavery, however under the skin and bones it is a beautifully rendered tale of human endurance and hope, no less because the tone the main character uses to tell the story of her family is not engulfed in anger or bitterness. Instead the sytle is both lyrical and crisp and perfect for allowing the reader to absorb brutal details without getting too heart sick to continue. In fact the novel ends on a note of hope and connectivity, a real feat to pull off given the subject matter. I love the way she playfully wrestles and uses word play to present the concept of time and the times in this novel. Her style reminded me of Khalil Gibran whom I used to read a long, long time ago once upon a time, so I was defintely tickled to see him listed in her dedication. I so recommend Family, a little treasure of a read with a big heart. And look forward to reading more of Cooper's work.

I could quote whole chapters, but here are a few words:

...so, once upon another time, a long, long time ago, time didn't mean
anything to my people, exceptin it was hard times all the time. And time can
look endless. That's the time I was born.

...When the children was sold and the money used to buy more land or somethin
for the land, Always named whatever was bought by the name of her child. So
there was fields named Lester, Ruby, and Lark, and whole lotta cows named Satti.

...So they loved in silence and touching. Always's heart overflowed so til it
hurt. He did not know where her other children was tho. It's always something to
remind you that everything ain't never gonna be alright!

The Magdalene Sisters

2010-01-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to watch The Magdalene Sisters ever since I heard about it, but have not had the gumption till yet. The Magdalene Asylums was one institution amongst many where disreputable girls were sent away to presumably be reformed although in fact to often live out their lives in hard labor, supposed apt punishment for their sin of being unwed mothers, or raped, or in some cases merely flirtatious and good looking. This film in particular focuses on the fate of four Irish girls. My mother loves the Irish, they're just like us, she's always said. Accordingly, this was a hard film for me to watch, no less because, had I been born in that clime I would have, no doubt, ended up in one of those institutions out of, no doubt, the goodness of my parents's hearts, after all they would have only been trying to save me as well as themselves. How thank full I must be then that Pakistan harbors, at least, no such institutions for fallen women. Of course troubleseome wives, sisters, daughters etc... do often go mad for which there are institutions...

I was shocked to discover in the film postscript that the last Magdalene Laundry closed in 1996.

19 bloody 96. The year I graduated from college. That year I was still trapped in my mind, scared, broken, and trying to make sense of who I was versus where and to whom I’d been born. That year I did not know there were still institutions where my broken, scared, senseless sisters were trapped too.

The Magdalene Sisters is based on the documentary 'Sex in a Cold Clime' which you can watch here (it is also available as an extra on the DVD). Please do take the time to watch it so you can bear witness to these stories which should have never been. I was heart broken by the looks on the womens faces as they relate their losses of so many years ago. And, as usual, really pissed at the way religion and community manipulates females.

The picture above is the cover of the book by James M Smith 'Ireland's Magdalen Laundries and the Nation's Architecture of Containment. Here is a blogpost by the author himself on the Manchester University Press blog.

"Are you the man who wrote the Magdalen book?" A voice, hesitant and frail,
asked from the other end of my office phone. "I just finished it. I read about
ten pages a day." She called to share her story. She wanted someone to listen.
She needed someone to understand.Her mother died when she was seven. Initially,
she and a younger sister were cared for within the extended family. The farm
required her father's attention. At fourteen, he deposited her with the Good
Shepherd nuns in New Ross. Her sister was sent to the congregation's Limerick
convent." read rest here

Ali Sethi's The Wish Maker. A Review.

2009-10-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

My review of Ali Sethi's debut novel The Wish Maker for readysteadybook.com

During a book reading, Ali Sethi said he wrote The Wish Maker, his debut novel, in order to record his memories of Pakistan and the Pakistan of his parents and grandparents; in this endeavor, then, Sethi has done a fine job. The novel begins with college going Zaki Shirazi arriving at the new airport in Lahore and being met by two servants, Naseem, a long time retainer, along with a new driver. Indeed this duo encapsulates The Wish Maker’s thematic concerns between old and new, past and present, memory and remembrance, themes the twenty four year old Sethi tackles, to his credit, evocatively and unsentimentally.
read the rest here

Tahmineh Milani's 'Two Women', a film from Iran

2009-08-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Two Women follows the lives of friends Fereshteh (Niki Karimi) and Roya (Marila Zarei) over a decade. As college students, Roya approaches the academically above average Feresteh for tutoring sessions and their friendship develops rapidly in a lovely montage; paradise, however, never lasts. Feresteh is being stalked by a frighteningly violent young man (there is a thoroughly satisfying scene on a bus where she berates him), the university shuts down, and thanks to her small minded father her once promising future takes a downward turn all too real.
As such Two Women should not conveniently be categorized as a mere film about women's rights; it is so much more and Tahmineh Milani, the writer and director, has done a beautiful job without resorting to male bashing or melodrama: there are decent men and there is no chest beating, hysterical weeping, or long diatribes of 'woe is me'. Instead, simple acts convey heartbreak such as a mother patting the empty bed of her kidnapped children, and Niki Karimi’s stellar expressions whenever her screen husband insults her in front of her children. In each scene be it back story or present day, the camera lingers just long enough to deliver the intent and then briskly skips on without a single misstep or lag thanks to Mostafa Kherghehpoosh’s excellent editing skills.
Two Women was released to acclaim in 1999, and ten years later it could be set in Pakistan scene to scene with the added detail of helpless/unhelpful neighbors watching from doorways as desperate women run down the street towards literal and symbolic blind ends. The end reminded me of the adage 'better late than never', and why it's not always true. This is a film which should not be missed.

Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2009-08-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle the Kingsolver family eat homegrown as well as locally grown foods for a year in order to reduce their carbon footprint. However there are some items which they cannot do without even though they grow very far away such as olive oil and coffee. Barbara pens the chapters on the vegetables in season and how the Kingsolvers grow or buy them and how they prepare them, with end caps by husband Steven Hopp and college bound daughter Camille.

My favorite passages were, by far, those concerning their six year old daughter, Lily's, egg business, as well as the bits about the heritage turkeys. I had no idea that turkey sexuality was bred out of them, and therefore turkey females did not necessarily know how to be mothers. Reminded me of women fumbling and foiling at breast feeding because it really is a learned art, and often there is literally no one at home to correct what they may be doing wrong.

I was hoping to learn from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle how to grow more local (except for tomatoes I don't do much else), but this is not that type of book. In fact, there were times when I felt hopeless at ever being able to grow foods and sustain myself let alone my family in the style of the Kingsolvers. Barbara and Steven have both grown up on farms and so have the added benefit of knowing what peg goes in which hole much as I do when it comes to Pakistani recipes and knowing which ingredient should be added when by sheer dint of belonging to the culture. I can no more 'teach' someone how to grow local by telling them how lushly the turmeric and cumin and onions grew in my garden, how their colors flowered in my kitchen, or how their smells added to my dreams, then Barbara does in her chapters be they asparagus in March, zucchini in July or pumpkins in October.

Also I would have liked to know how much cleaning, and preparation, and cleaning was involved in growing, scrubbing, canning, freezing, storing, slaughtering; an awful lot of cleaning, I dare say, which might put a woman like me, if I had no domestic help, in a very bad mood. But Barbara breezes through the menial chores in so far that they do not crop up in the book much, and certainly not as something bad mood inducing. If I remember correctly, she even says at one point that all the preparation and cooking is actually soothing because her other job i.e. writing, is so cerebral.

The last chapter 'Time Begins' is beautiful and Barbara's writing is at its profound, heart stirring "The Poisonwood Bible' ish best.

Here are some quotes I want to remember:

So when people refer to this (actose intolerance) as an illness, I'm inclined to
point out we L.I.'s can very well digest the sugars in grown-up human foods like
fruits and vegetables, thank you, we just can't nurse. From a cow. Okay?
from the chapter Six Impossible Things
Before Breakfast

But spending every waking hour on one job in drudgery, however you slice it. After an eight hour day at my chosen profession, enough is enough. I'm ready to spend the next two or three somewhere else, preferably outdoors, moving my untethered limbs to a worldly beat. Sign me up on the list of those who won't maximize their earnings through a life of professionally focused ninety hour weeks. Plenty of people do, I know, either perforce or by choice-- overwork actually has major cache in a society
whose holy trinity is efficiency, productivity, and material acquisition.
Complaining about it is the modern equivalent of public prayer. 'Work' in this
context, refers to tasks that are stressful and externally judged, which the
worker heartily longs to do less of. 'Not working' is widely coveted but harder
to define. The opposite of work is play, also an active verb. It could be tennis
or birdwatching, so long as its meditative and makes you feel better afterward.
Growing sunflowers and beans is like that, for some of us. Cooking is like
that. So is canning tomatoes and making mozzarella. Doing all of the above with
my kids feels like family life in every happy sense. When people see the size of
our garden or the stocks in our pantry and shake their heads, saying "What a lot
of work," I know what they're really saying. This is the polite construction in
our language for "What a dope". They can think so. But they're wrong.
from the chapter What Do You Eat in January?

I once read a pioneer diary in which the Kansas wife postponed, week after week, harvesting the last hen in her barren, windy yard. "We need the food badly," she wrote, "but I will miss the company." I've never been anywhere near that lonely, but now I can relate to the relationship.
from the chapter Time Begins

...we've learned that some of our favorite things like DDT and the propellants in aerosol cans were rapidly unraveling the structure and substance of our biosphere. We gave them up, and reversed the threats. Now the reforms required of us are more systematic, and nobody seems to want to go first. (To be more precise, the
U.S.A. wants to go last.)
from the chapter Time Begins

Christmas music fills our ears with tales of a Palestinian miracle birth, a generous Turkish saint whom the Dutch dressed in a red suit, and a Druid ceremonial tree...
from the chapter Celebration Days.

The Prophet Muhammad recommended it (garlic) for snakebite. Eleanor
Roosevelt took it in chocolate covered pills to improve her memory, and Pliny
the Elder claimed it was good for your sex life. I wouldn't bet on that last
one.
from the chapter Smashing Pumpkins

What a pleasant, refreshing surprise to find the Prophet Muhammad in a book on eating locally!!
I am so used to the Prophet, indeed anything related to Islam, being mentioned only and only in context to the usual veiling and failings that I reread the above lines twice before trusting mine eyes. Why am I not surprised that the author is Barbara Kingsolver :)

More Good News for Wives and Mothers and the Injured in Afghanistan.

2009-08-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

"Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands.
The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to get permission from their husbands to work.
It also effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying 'blood money' to a girl who was injured when he raped her.
Tamkeen is the readiness of the wife to submit to her husband's reasonable sexual enjoyment, and her prohibition from going out of the house, except in extreme circumstances, without her husband's permission. If any of the above provisions are not followed by the wife she is considered disobedient"
read the rest of the Guardian article here
A hell on earth for women; for men, a heaven.
I suppose I should say 'some' men.
Khaled Hosseini's novel 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is a page turning read for how women manage to live within laws like the above.
Live is the wrong word. Die is right.
There is the rapist, but what is the person raped called? I'm beginning to hate the nomenclature 'rape victim'.

New Story- Darning Blue Sky

2009-08-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Urhalpool, a Bengali-English webzine, invited me to contribute a story. I sent Darning Blue Sky.

Doraha-- Pakistani TV Play

2009-02-21T20:47:00.001-08:00

Doraha is a fourteen episode drama telecast by the Geo channel. Doraha means two roads/decisions leading in different directions. The story by Umera Ahmed explores a love triangle between a guy and two girls, the girls both coming from very different social classes, and the push of individual desires against duty to family. The subject matter may not be unique but Ahmed's sensitive, character driven story telling and Mehreen Jabbar's steller direction and editing take it too a whole new level. The actors have also done fantastic jobs. Unfortunately, Doraha is not the flawless production it could have been. Despite the momentum created by the first many episodes, the last few falls prey to the usual brain dead flashback filler montages Pakistani dramas seem to not be able to do without; this brings down an otherwise excellent serial. Mehreen Jabbar's blog has viewers comments on the play. Here's a site where the episodes are available for free. Furthermore there were many loose ends left untied: who does Omar's sister get married to? Why don't we see much of Omar's mother regretting the role she's played in the whole mess? We want to see her eat some major crow, we need to see her eat some major crow but in ommitting this catharsis, Doraha makes a major blunder. Next, considering how headstrong and likeable Omar is at the beginning, his wimpiness in the latter episodes is perpelxing as well as cringe worthy, especially the callous way he's ready to leave behind (spoiler alert) his wife and daughter. And that brings me to the biggest conundrum of all: what exactly makes Omar so attractive to these two women. In Shehla's case perhaps obsession is the more apt adjective and all too likely given that she comes from a background and culture where one's first love is supposed to be one's one and only till the day she dies. In Sara's case, even though she belongs to the same culture, her background and innate intelligence ultimately render her final decision a bit specious. It is interesting though that, no matter that their backgrounds, both girls are expected to get married and have mothers hounding them to this effect. Like I always say, marriage is Pakistan's religion, with mother being the Generals sending their daughters to the front lines often ill prepared and no matter what the cost.
Doraha is definitely worth watching despite the glitches in the last few episodes, in fact inspite of them it is still heads and shoulders above most other Pakistani dramas.

risks of an early -c-section

2009-01-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

I'm not fan of c-sections, and having my second C on the fifth of Dec for my third kid (2,5,3 are the magic numbers) has left me even less so. My baby was breech, and I started contractions in the 38th week, but here's some latest info on why even supposedly 'full term' c-sections are not a good idea.

The earlier deliveries had a higher rate of complications. Among babies
born at 39 weeks, 3.4% had certain breathing problems, including one called
respiratory distress syndrome. The frequency of such problems rose to 5.5% for
babies delivered at 38 weeks, and to 8.2% at 37 weeks. An infant's breathing
problems don't usually cause lasting effects, but such babies are more likely to
have to be admitted for intensive care.

read rest here

Gaza and Israel-- home, clothes, name...

2009-01-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

The situation is crippling to watch. And the cable news (CNN, MSNBC, FOX,) coverage in the U.S. is abominable. No doubt the Israelis fear of Hamas and thier rocket fire is mentally debilitating but, based on the U.S. news coverage (though some would call it propoganda), one would assume that the civilians in Isreal are suffering the same number of casualties as are those in Gaza. 760 deaths to 4 Israelis. Not that any are acceptable be it Palestinians or Israelies.
But the Isrealis are playing unfair: for all thier dropping of leaflets to warn Gazans to get out before the bombs come, where are the Gaza civilians supposed to go for cover? One one side is the deep sea, on others the borders are closed, and there is no 'country house' to flee to from the cities. So basically, leaflet or no leaflet, they're stuck. Damn Hamas for putting its people in this situation to begin with. And yet...even this uneven 'war' will come to an end, though too late for those dead or maimed, physically and emotionally. Days of constant bombing, of constantly being reminded of the precariousness of life. Imagine the nightmares those kids, adults, will have...

Americans are still subjected to Fox “News” and CNN propaganda piped into
airport waiting rooms, doctors’ offices, and exercise centers. People ask me
where they can get reliable information. I tell them that their goal cannot be
reached without their commitment of time. People who have access to
television services that provide English language foreign broadcasts, such as
Iran’s Press TV, Russia Today, or Al Jazeera, can get get news and insights from
those parts of the world demonized by the US media. The BBC World Service still
reports facts while covering itself by providing the views of the US, UK, and
Israeli governments.
read rest here

and

from The Christian Science Monitor
"I was forced to leave the house that I worked 30 years for," Abu Khaled
told me. "I took my clothes and underwear and ID cards so I could be identified
if killed in one of the explosions."
read rest here

Day One of the New Year

2009-01-01T12:32:00.001-08:00

400 dead in Gaza, Palestine
4 dead in Israel

and cholera, amongst other killers, kills in Zimbabwe

I'd like all sickness and disease and war to end... but that's not happening any time soon...so this year's resolution is how to learn to live with it.

But then that's every year's resolution.

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

2008-12-31T19:08:00.000-08:00

last night was new year's in Pakistan.
Tonight is new year's in the U.S.
Every day is a New Year some where.
So hello somewhere new year, and somewhere good bye.

Interview with Literary Agent Debarati Sengupta

2008-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

Debarati Sengupta is a junior literary agent with Serendipity Literary Agency. She is looking for fiction and non-fiction dealing with multicultural themes with an international and universal appeal. She also has a keen interest in young adult and twenty-something themes in both fiction and non fiction categories

Soniah: How long have you been an agent?
Debarati:About one and a half years now.

Soniah: How did you get started?
Debarati:I have always, always wanted to be in the book-publishing business (and I don’t think I will ever get tired of this!) I started my career in the publishing industry as an editor in India. After moving to USA post marriage, I realized that if I wanted to be a part of the publishing industry here, I’d have to be in New York. I convinced my husband to move to New York from Florida, while I enrolled myself in a course in publishing at NYU. At the same time, I started interning at Serendipity Literary Agency, and soon, under the excellent leadership and infectious enthusiasm of Regina Brooks - our lead agent-- I started acquiring and developing projects. In India, literary agents are still a rare breed, but here, I realized that agents have, in many ways, actually taken over the role that editors used to play. At the same time, being an agent gives me a certain amount of independence in terms of the project that I choose to work on. I think being a part of a literary agency also gives me an excellent overview of the entire industry – the creative as well as the business side, because I get to deal with all the major houses and editors, and work on a wide range of books. I work on books that I enjoy the most, and at the same time am able to be involved with a book project throughout all its stages – from when it is just an idea, to when it appears in a publisher’s sales catalog, to when it sits on the shelves of a bookstore - waiting to be picked up by the next reader.

Soniah:What are the most important things an author might look for in an agent?
Debarati:First off, authors can try to educate themselves on the whole process of publishing – and not just from discussion boards, blogs and the web in general, but from more reliable sources like the Publishers Marketplace, Publishers Weekly Magazine, the bestseller lists and various publishing house websites. Once an author has a basic idea about the kind of market she is writing for as well as the competitive books and the recent trends in the market, she should find out agents who specialize in those kinds of books. It always helps to check out thoroughly:
• Whether the agent has a wide network, • The agent’s website, • The agent’s sales, • Agent attendance at various writing workshops, conferences, seminars etc. • If the agent is a member of AAR (Association of Author Representatives).
Different agents have different working styles as far as their editorial, marketing, and publicity inputs are concerned. So research what suits you best based on your needs. Finding the perfect agent is quite like finding the perfect life partner – you would be taking the plunge holding your agent’s hands and once you take the plunge there should be no looking back and no thinking twice, so make sure you have complete faith in your agent.

Soniah:What types of work do you represent and are you most interested in?
Debarati:At Serendipity, we love to work on a balanced mix of non-fiction and both literary and commercial fiction. We also have a long list of very successful books for young adults and children. Genres that interest us most are politics, psychology and self-help, pop culture, health, science, women's issues, parenting, cooking, design and crafts, alternative spirituality, business. I am always very drawn to fresh, unique voices, with edgy and interesting story structures and to writing that moves me. I am very eager to work with international writers, on multicultural themes and am always interested in new and emerging writers. And oh, I also want to do a perfectly taut thriller, or a Dan Brownesque book set in South Asia, you know, a heady mix of history and adventure.

Soniah:You must obviously love to read-- can you take us through a typical day at work?
Debarati:Fortunately, if you are an agent, no day is like a ‘typical’ day, every day is a roller coaster ride and everything is very time sensitive. And because reading and working on books is more like a passion rather than a vocation, ‘work’ tends to spill over into all my waking hours. So I like to read manuscripts or the latest bestsellers on the train to and from work. Book ideas are always on my mind, so I may be developing book concepts while watching TV or surfing the Net, or even while catching up with a friend on the phone. And believe it or not, sometimes even in my dreams! Otherwise, in the office, I read query letters, proposals and manuscripts, develop projects at various stages, negotiate contracts, brainstorm publicity ideas, and set up appointments with editors. Then there’s the breakfast, lunch and after work drinks I have with editors so that I can establish a rapport and find out their literary likes and dislikes. And of course there are times when we breathe deep and nurse our wounds after reading a nice (and sometimes not so nice) rejection letter. And sometimes in the office we just plain chitchat! About books of course 

Soniah:What would a dream client be like? A nightmare client?
Debarati:I would like to think that there really isn't anything like a ‘nightmare’ client, or a ‘dream’ client for that matter. When we take on an author, we would like him or her to get a feeling that he or she is very special for us, and would get our personal commitment and support throughout the harrowing process of getting published and even after that, as if he or she is our only client. We tend not to take on authors with similar book ideas, so in that sense each author’s work is a unique element in our portfolio. However, it always makes working with a client much easier if he or she is able to trust us completely and believe in our mission of a long-term development and lasting relationship. Yes, it’s quite like having a ‘relationship’ – each one needs to be equally committed and trusting.And we love it every time an author is enthusiastic about learning, especially when it comes to the business aspect of getting published. In fact, we take in only those authors as clients who take up writing as a career, rather than a hobby. Who would, for example, maybe invest in a personal website or work on a you tube video or a blog and network to promote himself/herself as an author. This is for the very simple reason – any agent, editor, publisher would be more confident about investing their money, time and effort on a writer who is serious about the business of writing.Authors who don’t respect the process and call us every day about the progress of the book, or authors who allow emotions to get in the way of the business can really be difficult. Also authors who don’t understand the power of the Internet can inadvertently sabotage their image by being too tell-all in public spaces, i.e. blogs, websites, and discussion boards.

Soniah:How might an author sabotage their image?
Debarati:I feel blogs and the Internet in general is a great place to network, to get your talent out there and to bond with other authors, organization, to generate an audience - to sum up, a very efficient and important tool. The only reason an author perhaps may be somewhat careful while communicating on the net is because the internet is a very public space, and as with all ther public spaces, it always helps to be cautious about what you say and how you present your opinion. Of course, all of us have seen how a careless comment can generate prejudiced public opinion against you. We also have known authors who have quoted our communication with them, through emails or over the phone, word by word, on blogs and discussion boards, and we feel quite uncomfortable with that.Here are some pointers on how to use blogs and online tools:- While blogging use more conversational tone, and end with open ended questions which can lead to fruitful discussions and encourage readrs to question and comment. - Add links to every keyword and link to each other's blogs, and in a creative way so that more people can know about your to-be-published book (but give out your book idea only after you get a deal)- Try to prove your interest/ expertise/ passion for the subject you are writing about. That will give an editor/agent/publishers reading your blog the feeling that the subject will generate wide interest- If you have a book already out, offer to give away/ sell at discount/signed-personalized copy of the book from the blog - Add as many images/ videos etc possible - readers generally have short attention span and cannot read long posts at a stretch. Keep paragraphs short- If you have accounts/ profiles in any other social networking site (myspace, facebook, linkedIn), add your information to your blog, and add your regular readers to your network

Soniah:Is being an agent everything you expected? If you will share-- so far what has been your highest high and lowest low?
Debarati:Being an agent gives me the satisfaction of being a part of the creative as well as business aspect of the publishing process. I get to choose to work on only what I believe in, which is amazing. And believing in the project completely allows me the opportunity to help an author develop a story and provide editorial suggestions. I also get to help editors push the sales of a book or plan events and even tie in the author with organizations to help promote the work. I also get to negotiate the contract on behalf of the author so that he/she gets maximum revenue. Also, I try to sell the book to overseas agents or sell rights of books from foreign countries to publishers in USA. Working on each project is a unique experience, and I learn a lot from each project. It’s a joy when you see a proposal on which you have worked hard being sold, and again, it’s somewhat heartbreaking when you cannot make others believe in a project as much as you do. Also, at times you strongly feel a book should be out there because the words in it have something magical about them, but then it’s disappointing when other marketing dynamics prevent it from happening.

Soniah:What is your process for taking on a book? -- Or is every case different?
Debarati:In case of fiction, we like to see a query letter, a synopsis, a few sample chapters and the author’s background. If the idea seems to be interesting, we ask for the entire manuscript. In case of non-fiction, we ask for a proposal which will have the publishing rationale of the book, a description of the project, the author’s background, the target audience, marketing ideas and what we call the author’s ‘platform’ – which summarizes why the author is the best person to write the book, what he/she can offer along with a great manuscript that will make the book sell. The platform is important for non-fiction especially because thousands of aspiring writers are trying to get a book published. So we have to be convinced that the author has made a strong case for why the publisher should invest in her idea, and what would give her an edge over the other authors. Once we love the book idea and feel confident, we then make a commitment. This commitment is solidified by signing of an agreement for representation. Thereafter, we are the client’s champion, come what may.

Soniah:In the U.S. there seems to be a strong market for non-fiction set in South Asia. Would you agree the same is true for fiction given the popularity of authors such as Lahiri and Hosseini? Or is the U.S. market interested only as long as fiction, and even memoirs, address the quintessential topics of arranged marriages, immigrant angst, or the 'terrorist' angle?
Debarati:Now that the world is becoming increasingly smaller and South Asian countries are more often in the news, thanks to the booming economy or the political episodes, South Asia is definitely in the front pages. Also, one cannot deny fact that there has been a steady growth in the number of authors from South Asia whose works are internationally successful. So I definitely think there is a greater interest in South Asian books written in English or those dealing with South Asian themes. But then, it is difficult to say with 100% conviction that books, especially fiction, that deal with themes that are quintessentially South Asian and that are completely alien to US readers here would really work, unless the book has been written keeping in mind an international readership.If we think about it – would a reader in South Asia or belonging to any other culture be able to connect easily to books that are quintessentially American? We are all, to some extent, prejudiced about ideas and cultural experiences that we have trouble relating to. But again, publishers are always ready to publish books which they feel would have a universal appeal, if it is a great story which readers will be able to relate to. It depends on the author how s/he presents his/her ideas, experiences and unique perspective keeping the international readership in mind. After all, readers look forward to a good story, does not matter where the story is set. And if it were not for books, how would our horizons broaden?

Soniah:It seems that, in recent years, there are more short story collections available and that they're doing well...What are your views? Is this just a trend?
Debarati:Honestly, again and again we have realized that it is very difficult to work on short stories, unless they come from an author who is established, or they are a part of an anthology, which deals with a theme that will generate immense interest. We do not work on short stories or poetry for adults – they are just too difficult to sell and don’t generate great revenue.

Soniah:What advice would you give anyone who wants to be an agent?
Debarati:First, you have to love books – not just reading but the whole process of making a book happen, of visualizing an idea or concept as printed words between covers. You have to be curious about everything, have a sense of wonder and the ability to connect with people easily. You’ll have to learn the language of various departments in the publishing house, i.e. editorial, marketing, legal, production and sales. Not only the language but also the temperament of a business that is chock full of characters. You’ll need to know how to think on your feet, and enjoy the two year lifecycle that books typically enjoy. I’m always motivated by the passion for making that one good book happen, for discovering and molding that one talent, for making a product that is completely unique. Agents often see themselves as project managers. They will have authors who are at different stages of the process, so you need to know how to multitask, how to be organized, and how to develop a strategic plan. But please don’t feel intimidated – this is actually a very exciting business, and you get to be the very first reader of a book! And of course, if you are lucky enough to have an excellent mentor like Regina, the whole process would become twice as exciting and enjoyable.

Soniah:What do you think is the best approach an author can use to break ties with an agent?
Debarati:Nothing works better than being honest. You should assess the reasons for breaking with the agent very carefully. Prepare a list of pros and cons, and be sure to go over it with your agent. Often times you’ll find that once you communicate your dissatisfaction the two of you can come to an amicable departure. But you may also find that you hadn’t really shared your expectations and once you do, the agent can make adjustments. If all else fails, as in any relationship, it’s always best not to let it drag out too long. You’ll be wasting both your time and the agent’s.

Soniah:If there was only one piece of advice you could give an author, what would it be?
Debarati:I believe every story in the world has been told, what matters is how you tell the story. All you authors, I have realized again and again, are extraordinary people, you are gifted, you make the ordinary around us magical, and you can make us readers see what we cannot see otherwise. So when you have a story to tell, a book to write, see that you do enough groundwork to make sure that yours will not get lost in the crowd. And brace yourself for a long process – but enjoy every step of it.

Soniah:What would be a dream submission?
Debarati:A great story told in a way that is completely fresh and that touches me forever.

Soniah:Any parting words?
Debarati:I’m aggressively looking for fiction dealing with multicultural themes and have an international and universal appeal. I have a special interest in young adult and twenty-something themes in both fiction and nonfiction categories. I like books that are quirky and fresh, can also really dig into a juicy thriller or conspiracy theory book. But I am always ready to take a look at a good book idea, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have a good platform and a good concept.

Soniah:What is the best way to submit to you/Serendipity?
Debarati:Through the website: http://www.serendipitylit.com/Old/contact.asp Or via email at debarati@serendipitylit.comWe prefer electronic submission – it’s faster, and we save trees that way.

Happy Writing.

Malcolm Gldwell on Ben Fountain, Jonathan Safron Foer, Cezanne, Picasso: late bloomers versus prodigies. And Women Who Bring Home the Bacon.

2008-11-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

What's the point of pointing out that some kids walk before thier first birthday and some kids walk much later if you're not going to discuss what this means to the psyches of the parents and child? Why Do We Equate Genius with Precocity? Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, does not really answer his own subtitle when writing about creative late bloomers versus prodigies for The New Yorker. Late bloomers --writers like Ben Fountain or painters like Cezanne-- require years of practise and lots of research but prodigies-- writers like Jonathan Safron Foer and painters like Picasso-- just, well, spit it out. Says Jonathan Foer about research and rehearsals 'I couldn't do that.'

'Foer began to talk about the other way of writing books, where you
painstakingly honed your craft, over years and years. “I couldn’t do that,” he
said. He seemed puzzled by it. It was clear that he had no understanding of how
being an experimental innovator would work. “I mean, imagine if the craft you’re
trying to learn is to be an original. How could you learn the craft of being an
original?”'

I'd have liked to know what he doesn't get? After all, it shouldn't take a prodigy to understand that some creators might need research and practise over many many drafts. Gladwell also raphsodizes about Mrs. Ben Fountain being Mr. Ben Fountain's 'patron' i.e. the person paying the bills. Gladwell writes and rightly so:

'Sharie was Ben’s wife. But she was also—to borrow a term from long ago—his
patron. That word has a condescending edge to it today, because we think it far
more appropriate for artists (and everyone else for that matter) to be supported
by the marketplace. But the marketplace works only for people like Jonathan
Safran Foer, whose art emerges, fully realized, at the beginning of their
career, or Picasso, whose talent was so blindingly obvious that an art dealer
offered him a hundred-and-fifty-franc-a-month stipend the minute he got to
Paris, at age twenty. If you are the type of creative mind that starts without a
plan, and has to experiment and learn by doing, you need someone to see you
through the long and difficult time it takes for your art to reach its true
level. This is what is so instructive about any biography of Cézanne. Accounts
of his life start out being about Cézanne, and then quickly turn into the story
of Cézanne’s circle....Cezanne didn't just have help. He had a dream team in his corner.'

Sharon is Ben's dream team. She 'worked' and brought home the bacon while Ben stayed home, wrote in the mornings and, when the kids returned form school, made lunch etc... Many female writers have been living this lifestyle for ages with their husbands their 'patrons'. What Ben did is a traditionally womanly thing to do i.e. be creative or do something for yourself between child rearing and housekeeping. Imagine someone bursting into applause because 'he worked while she stayed home, wrote in the mornings and, when the kids came back from school, she made lunch etc..' This is the humdrum fact of the lives of many women who work from home...or aren't the predominant bill payer. While Gladwell waxes on about Sharon's willingness and perhaps ability to allow Ben to stay home while she earn the chappati, Gladwell fails to make much of how deeply Sharon must have believed in Ben's talent to begin with. Did she read his work? How did she know it would work out? Did she figure let him 'play' in the morning, as long as the fridge is stocked by the time I get back home and, if something concrete evolves out of the morning play, why then, all the better for it my dear... What exactly made Sharon Ben's dream team and how much did that, finances aside, help Ben emotionally? But apparently, according to Gladwell, Sharon's sacrifice of a dual income family is driving an Accord rather than a BMW as someone in her profession deserves to.
I would have liked Gladwell to explore whether there is a difference in the satisfaction levels of prodigies versus late bloomers once they get published or find their work on a wall? Is Foer's supposed instant success really the same as Fountain's belaboured one just because the end result is the same? Would you rather be rich and famous (or just famous or just rich) at twenty or at fifty? Let me ask it this way: would you, a prodigy, trade places with a late bloomer or would a late bloomer not trade places with a prodigy?

I Have A Dream, President Obama

2008-11-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

Congratulations President Barack Hussein Obama. And Vice-President Joe Biden.

I have a dream that the damage that has been wrought in this country and other countries will be overturned in the next four years to a great extent. You are black. You are white. Your father is from Kenya. Your mother is from Kansas. You have seen Muslim. You have seen Christian.

They called you terrorist because once you crossed streets with a domestic terrorist. They called you socialist because you care about all and not just a few. They called you Muslim as if this is a four letter word.

And we the people saw through this bullshit.

Politicians say so much to get into office, make so many promises... but let me not be cynical. Not now, not yet, I hope not at all in this case. I hope, with the audacity of hope, I dream with the audacity of dreams that, in this Obama Presidency some all of these dreams for the US, and for the world, come true.

Amen.

Hope being a big word, I really hope this does mean change and not just gloss...But Obama's win also DOES not mean that rascism is over only that we've come a looog way baby...and there's still ways to go, and yes we can. I'm really looking forward to who makes up his adminstration and how they handle foreign policy-- Guantanamo, Abu Graib and torture as merely indepth questioning...

* My son's name is Buraaq and he's asleep right now but he's going to be delirious with joy come morning that his namesake is indeed going to be the President. Buraaq is only 7 1/2, and through out this campaign he's loved being called "President Barack/Buraaq"-- Hey- what's in a spelling- Buraaq says.

** From Grant Park, Chicago, IL to Kenya. How amazing to see the Kenyans in Kenya celebrating from Obama's Dad's village where his paternal grandmother is still alive. Because for them Obama is one of them too!!!!! In fact Kenya declares a national holiday

"They also stress that they know he is an American, rather than a Kenyan,
but even so there is still hope that the change he has promised will encompass
Africa, with trade policy and tariffs cited as a particular concern."

That's what many world-wide are hoping-- yes, he's America's President, but also that he's a Son of the World.

And finally Senator McCain embraces unity in his gracious concession speech

"I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just
congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest
effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge
our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a
dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better
country than we inherited. Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans.
And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than
that." read rest here

Two Exchanges, and Letterman and McCain, and Colin Powell Endorses Obama

2008-10-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

On NBC's Meet the Press Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President but just as --even more-- importantly he set forth and endorsed a view that was, it seemed, sadly, sorely, despicably missing from American politics. And all the nonsense is not now okay just because one Colin Powell has good solid common sense to speak up against bigotry but it's a start and how nice if Obama had come out and said, that is if he believes so, the same thing "So What if I Were a Muslim? Why should being a Muslim imply my also being a (fill in the blank)..." Obama is an African-American, but he is also half-white, his mother was white and she and her parents raised him. Obama is a Christian, but his deceased father was Muslim. Sure, you may not lurve the places you come from but you sure understand them because you come from them. And though accidents of birth should not make us special they do make us different especially when all we've seen so far is White Man for Presidents. Not that this means of course that African Americans and Brown People or Yellow or Red or Green do or should automatically stand in solidarity. In fact they should automatically do nothing at all.

I teared up when I heard both the below exchanges-- at the Sense with relief and at the Nonsense with incredulity and anger.

Nonsense:-

Woman at McCain rally:
"I can't trust Obama. I have read about him, and he's not he's not he's a uh he's an Arab".
McCain :
"No Maam No. He's a decent family man citizen."

Yeah Arabs are just....Arabs are just.... (fill in the blanks) but certainly not decent. family. man. citizen.

Of course I was argued with that since Arabs are so rascist themselves therefore.... To that I say two wrongs do not make a right. That's like when people inform me that 'if America has problems would you want to live to Saudi Arabia or Iran?' I'm always baffled by this logic. So my house may be dirty but since it's not as dirty as (fill in the blanks) the dirt is ok.

Not okay says Colin Powell on Meet the Press.

Sense:-

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said. Such things as 'Well you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well the correct answer is 'He is not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian.' But the really right answer is 'What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?' The answer is 'No. That's not America.' Is there something wrong with some 7-year old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she can be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion he's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo-essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in you can see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have a Star of David. It had a crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Karim Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American, he was born in New Jersey, he was 14 at the time of 9/11 and he waited until he can go serve his country and he gave his life."

Letterman's exchange with McCain is also stellar for hammering Mr. McCain with tough questions

"Assigned to demonize the opponent, Palin works the campaign trail as a politician with mud in her hands and a gift for slinging it. Palling around with GOP dirty tricksters, she slanders McCain's opponent, a sitting U.S. senator, as a fellow-traveler of "terrorists who would target their own country." Her "terrorists" is a lone and long-since reformed William Ayers, who, when Barack Obama was a youngster growing up abroad, helped found a radical anti-Vietnam war group blamed for several domestic bombings in the '60s.

Pressed about Palin's exaggerations of Obama's relationship with Ayers - both men deny they've ever been pals - Sen. McCain supported her. However, when Letterman linked the Arizona senator to his friend and fundraiser - and convicted Watergate burglar and domestic terrorist G. Gordon Liddy - McCain recoiled. After the break, he admitted: "I know Gordon Liddy. He paid his debt, he went to prison. ... I'm not in any way embarrassed to know Gordon Liddy." Liddy, who plotted to kill newspaper columnist Jack Anderson and firebomb the Brookings Institution, hosted a 1998 fundraiser for McCain's re-election. On Liddy's radio show in 2007, the senator spoke proudly of the ex-con's "adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great."

It's not likely that we'll hear Sarah Palin preaching that McCain also is "palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
read rest here

Adiga's White Tiger Wins 2008 Booker Prize

2008-10-14T15:05:00.001-07:00

Anita Desai's novels were being published in India in the 60's, 70's and 80's, she says in her opinion piece in Outlook India, to no fanfare at all. Instead, rather than get excited about Indian writers writing in English, Indian readers continued reading Austen and Hardy and Wodehouse. It took major literary prizes awarded by the West, as well as big advances, for Indian readers to develop an interest and Indian-English writing (a trend which continues: it took Arvind Adiga's The White Tiger being long and short listed for the Booker Prize for it beginning to sell in India). Since then times have changed in many instances but this change comes with its own set of drawbacks. Were Adiga not short listed for the Booker and did not begin to recoup the big advance Harper Collins India gave it, would it be tough for his second novel to sell as is the case for authors whose first novels do not sell their advance out in the U.S.? Though the Indian publishing houses, still in their nascent stages in many rosy respects, may yet give their authors a second and third chance that U.S. publishers, with their look-to-the-bottom-line-only, no longer do. Will it follow that midlist American authors, finding it hard to get published in the U.S., increasingly turn to India for book deals and readers? How easy might it be for an 'American-Southern writer' to get a book deal in the Indian market? Will the book have to follow a 'Steel Magnolia'/Ya-Ya Sisterhood/Sweet Potato Queen stereotype'? Might it then be the Indian readers turn to 'exoticize' the U.S.: give us mint juleps and iced teas, give us family sagas where all the women stick together till death do they part, give us long shots of magnolias and big hair? After all 'exotification'-- be it mangos or veils or arranged marriages-- is still a challenge that South Asian writers, indeed writers from many cultures, still face-- though perhaps not as pervasively as before-- when trying to be published in the U.S.

Sales should increase even more: The White Tiger is awarded the 2008 Booker prize.

In The Guardian:

Jonathan Ruppin, of the book shop Foyles, said: "This is a refreshingly
unromanticised portrait of India, showing that a vast gulf between rich and poor
is not an exclusively western phenomenon. It's a very exciting winner for
bookshops as it's so commercial." read rest here

There will of course be many who will say The White Tiger won just because the 'West' wants to tarnish the image of India Shining. I found The White Tiger an enjoyable, fast paced read which offered a very real picture of inner India-- indeed inner any country where the rich are very rich and the poor really really poor with not many chances of upward mobility. Also the main character Balram's voice is fun:

from The White Tiger

It is an ancient and veneratedcustom of people in my country to start a
story by praying to a Higher Power. I guess, Your Excellency, that I too
should start off by kissing some god's arse. Which god's arse, though? There
are so many choices. See the Muslims have one god. The Christians have three
gods. And we Hindus have 36,000,000 gods.

And of course in the day and age of 600 page novels it is delightful to come across a short novel. However that said as delightful as brevity can be a short novel is kept short because the author chooses to tell the story from one character's point of view rather than through multiple characters. The White Tiger could have been a much deeper novel had Adiga chosen to tell the story through other characters' perspectives as well as delving deeper into how they have become who they are in the course of this novel, but this is a choice each author makes and the reader can only vote whether the author's choices have whetted their appetite fully: a not too long novel and one point of view versus a much longer read with many characters telling the story at the same time?
In the case of The White Tiger, says a Booker judge:

As Booker judges, though, we are playing the numbers game with other
peoples' art, not our own, and although we are doing our best to avoid it, with
the pressure mounting it is hard not to feel that size matters. At a judges' meeting this week, as books were mentioned round the table, it was often with a guilty ps, ‘...and it's short' or ‘... but it is rather long.' read rest here

More Alike Than Not: Jews and Muslims and Modesty

2008-10-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

A friend's husband was complaining the other day about the way some women were dressing to Sunday Services at Church here in Georgia, USA. Tarts, he called the women in tight skirts and, according to him, too much cleavage, whores who don't know how to respect our Lord. It's not a club, he said, it's a Church. This man could neither beat nor stone nor cast out these women, I suppose he'll have to live with grumbling to his heart's content, because the law would not allow him to get away with beating, stoning or casting anyone out. I suppose we're all guilty, men and women, of a little moral policing, now and then, even if only in our hearts, but the beginnings of taking it too far could very well be the grumble here and there becoming louder and louder and angrier and angrier until it joins forces with like hearts and minds. Israeli moral police have joined those in Iran and Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. And like the Taliban and their edicts against chess playing and kite flying and song hearing, it's not just women in Orthodox parts of Israel who are being monitored but also MP4 players.

In August, a Jerusalem man was placed under house arrest on suspicion he
set fire to a store in a haredi district of the city that sold MP4 players.
"It started about six months ago. They would come into the store, about 15
of them at a time, screaming, 'This store burns souls!' and they would throw
merchandise on the floor and threaten customers," said 31-year-old Aaron Gold, a
haredi worker at the Space electronic store. One Friday night, just before the Sabbath was about to begin, "they smashed a window, doused the place with
gasoline and lit a match," Gold said. Now, a big sign behind the counter
says, "All products sold in this store are under rabbinical supervision. By
order of the rabbis, no MP4s are sold here."
...Zealots there have thrown rocks and spat at women, and set fire to trash
bins to protest impiety. Walls of the neighborhood are plastered with signs
exhorting women to dress modestly spelled out as closed-necked,
long-sleeved blouses and long skirts...The state, catering to religious
sensitivities, subsidizes gender-segregated bus routes that service religious
neighborhoods. Ragen and several other women challenged the practice in Israel's
Supreme Court after an Orthodox Canadian woman in her 50s told police she was
kicked, slapped, pushed to the floor and spat upon by men for refusing to move
to the back oAnother Beit Shemesh girl, who asked to be identified only as
Esther, said zealots threw rocks, cursed and spat at a friend for wearing a red
blouse _ taboo because the color attracts attention.
read rest here

What I'd like to know is whether men can wear red shirts and skirts?

A Tribute to Copy Editor Helene Pleasants

2008-09-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people touch us, teach us in ways that stay with us always. Finding a teacher, a mentor, a guide, someone willing to take their time to lead you through a labyrinth you might take forever to get out of, if at all, is to seriously luck out. What My Editor Taught Me is a lovely piece written by a writer about one such copy editor.

'Helene had no literary theories — she had literary values. She valued clarity and transparency. She had nothing against style, if it didn’t distract from the material. Her blue pencil struck at redundancy, at confusion, at authorial vanity, at the wrong and the false word, at the unearned conclusion. She loved good writing, therefore she loved the reader: good writing did not cause the reader to stumble over meaning. By the time Helene was finished with me seven years later, I knew how to read a sentence and how to fix one. I knew what a sentence was supposed to do. I began to write my own sentences; needless to say, the responsibility for them is my own.'
read rest of NYTBR here

Islamabad Marriott. 2004. 2007. 2008.

2008-09-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

If you've been to Islamabad chances are you've been to the Marriott, at the very least you've passed it. In the nineties I stayed there during my SATs only offered in Islamabad during the time. The room I got was not to my satisfaction and I remember writing a letter of complaint which I handed to receptionists who tried hard not to giggle over the girl with the English accent who'd actually written a damn letter of complaint.
'Madam,' said one with a straight face, "I will personally see it gets to the party responsible for assigning rooms without views'.
More recently I'd been there for weddings and dinners. Marriott with its off-white arches and marble floors symbolized, for all those who need to spend a night away from home, home away from home like any hotel. In 2004 Marriott saw an explosion that killed seven, however Pakistan says that explosion was the result of a short circuit while the US says it was an explosive. In 2007 a security guard died after trying to stop a bomber. And, now, Ramadan 2008, another explosion, this time a truck with supposedly a tonne of explosives slamming into it and killing, at last count, sixty. Obviously for the killers there is no difference between Muslims and Non-Muslims. They are equal opportunity killers. What do the killers want? To be able to aggressively recruit if the US invades in order to restore 'stability'? I chose the above pic with the injured victim because often, in the US at least, such footage is always sanitized. And it shouldn't be. Buildings can be rebuilt; lives lost and traumatized cannot.
A day into the bombing I have not seen coverage on any of the US news channels-- perhaps there was a blip, but I missed it. The channels are too busy with Obama and Palin nama.Why isn't there a US news channel which caters to world news? Oh- of course, we the US, is the world. Why are Americans so okay about being so uninformed? Not knowing what's going on earth is not a great strength but a weakness-- albeit one that can be easily remedied.

I helped Maqsood, a driver, who was lying injured in his Corolla parked outside the hotel. Blood was pouring from his head but he requested to make a phone call. I gave him my mobile phone. He called someone and said that “I am Maqsood. I am badly injured in the bomb blast, I don’t think I will come back to Sargodha alive on this Eid. Please take care of my daughter Mariam, please don’t inform my mother what happened to me because she will die, I cannot speak more, Goodbye.” Maqsood was shifted to an ambulance in a very precarious condition.

A journalist colleague, watching the immense human suffering, was getting mad. He was abusing the terrorists, saying: the “Americans are killing us in the tribal areas, these Taliban are killing us in Islamabad; they will not go to paradise they will go to hell.”

I don’t have words to express the pain and agony of the women and children who were injured in the hotel. One woman, holding her little daughter, was not ready to leave the Nadia Coffee Shop where the body of her husband was lying on a table. The little girl was crying, “Papa I am sorry, I forced you to come to this hotel, I am sorry Papa, please wake up Papa.”
read the rest of Hamid Mir's report here

Ambulances rushed to the area, picking their way through the charred carcasses of vehicles that had been in the street outside. Windows in buildings hundreds of yards away were shattered. Tropical fish from the tanks inside lay among the torn furnishings in the entrance area.
Mohammed Ali, an emergency service official, said that after an initial chaotic search to find survivors, rescue teams had only been able to make two brief forays into the hotel. He said they had found neither bodies nor survivors and had to retreat quickly.
"The fire has eaten the entire building," he said.
read rest here

Reviews of my short story Runaway Truck Ramp

2008-08-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

By Khademul Islam in The Daily Star
Traditional concepts of personal freedom, social roles, the divide between public and private spheres are implicitly worked out anew, where these by now familiar themes of women's writing are given fresh life by the expressive, strange and rare eloquence of fiction writing. One spectacular example of the latter is Soniah Kamal's 'Runaway Truck Ramp', whose alert, acrid and very funny short story probes diametrically opposed notions of freedom and 'maleness' through the sheer physicality of a one-night stand between an American woman and a Pakistani man: “Essence said I could walk into a room, take a survey, hone in, chat up, take the boy and dispose of him afterwards like well-chewed gum, we the women of the millennium, and that's what I did: Take Charge. That's the type I fell under in a Marie Claire quiz. No mooning around and pining for a guy for me, and so here was Sully, I found him attractive, and so why not, except I just couldn't do my routine--pull him over, fondle him or just say, 'Wanna fuck?'”

read review here

By Talib Qizilbash in Newsline

Soniah Kamal’s ‘Runaway Truck Ramp’ is a standout story for openly tackling the quintessential Pakistani taboo subject: sex. Her approach is both clever and candid. It’s candid for the relaxed manner in which she delivers the details of a fling that quickly turns ugly for a young woman because of her partner’s double standards and his view that she is just “practice.” The cleverness lies in how Kamal explores inbred and distasteful attitudes towards sex, for her heroine is not a young Pakistani woman, but a white American who hooks up with a charming Pakistani man.
read review here

By Rasheeda Bhagat in The Hindu

A STRIKING aspect of And the World Changed, by 24 Pakistani women writers, is the candour, honesty and ease with which some of the writers handle the issue of sex and sexuality in contrast to the hypocrisy, awkwardness and double standards that engulf such issues in the entire Indian sub-continent. Whether it is Qaisra Shahraz's "A Pair of Jeans" or Soniah Kamal's "Runaway Truck Ramp", the readers are taken through the various shades through which our societies and cultures deal with skin and sex. The latter candidly describes the brief but stormy physical relationship between Sulaiman (Sully), a Pakistani student in the United States and Michelle, an American, who criss-cross across the country in a car, and, while doing so, grapple with two very different cultural reactions to oral sex.
read review here

Passing

2008-08-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

"Everyone has some point at which they think that, all things considered, it's not that in those circumstances lying isn't wrong, it's just that telling the truth would be so much worse. I am the SS. Do you have any Jews in your cellar? Does anyone think the right answer is yes, if it's true?" Appiah went , "But I do think there is a separate issue with identity questions. If you are asked directly to reveal your deepest sense of who you are, it's particularly difficult not toe tell the truth. This is especially true in the free world, in the modern world, because we have this idea that you have the right to express your identity in the social world. And that one of the things that's wrong with the situations that force people to pass."

"Black for white passing first brought the Americanism passing into use...passing looks a lot different in our time than it did in the pre-civil rights days..."

from Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are by Brooke Kroeger, 2003

In 'Passing: When People Can't be Who They Are', Brooke Kroeger explores people who pass in our socially less rigid times for who they are not and yet feel they must be to reap advantages otherwise not available to them. Where once upon a time blacks and Jews needed to pass as white or gentiles, as other, to lead better lives and often to save their lives, today the modern-day passers Kroeger writes about are predominantly homosexuals whose lives might not be threatened but whose opportunties and dreams certainly are e.g. a gay Jew who want to become a Rabbi, a lesbian Naval officer referred to as the Careerist in the book because even after retirement she cannot come out of 'hiding/passing' on risk of being Court Martialed and losing her pension built upon twenty years of service. However there are other instances in the book, for example the Walt Whitman Award winning poet/Village Voice pop music critic who, in order to write his criticisms takes on the pseudonym of a woman simply because the 'authentic voice' comes to him in the persona of Jane Dark. When he was 'outed', the persons that he'd 'lied' to seemed less offended/upset, if at all, than he was upset with himself. Society accepted his 'deceit/pretense/alter ego/fluid identity' call it what you will while he himself seemed to find society's blatant okayness problematic...

In Pakistan-- a group oriented society where being an individual, or at least radically different, is routinely discouraged-- the one instance of 'passing' that seems to be fairly rampant and socially acceptable if not even encouraged is women-- and even many men-- liberally lying about their age. It is nothing for women, especially if they are single (unmarried has such ugly connotations, no?) to routinely present themselves as at least five years younger than they really are. In fact so insidious is this practice that most people automatically tack on an extra-three to five years to a girl's age.
Which is highly irritating for the likes of me who actually do tell the truth and do not see the merits of passing for younger and frankly couldn't careless. And yet...and yet...in Pakistan and amongst Pakistanis I routinely find myself avoiding answering questions about my age for the sake of family and friends because apparently not only will I ruin their their lives if the truth comes out, at the very least I will humiliate them and make them the recipient of smug looks from those whose ages will not be outed because they don't have foolish friends or relatives like me. Passing for younger seems a game the entire country plays even when they know how old someone really is. In Pakistan, where society is such a small milieu, it is quite impossible to not know the real ages of the girls suddenly who are suddenly years younger than you. Come on! Girl! Guy! We know you are close to forty and not the thirty you purport to be and please no need to take out your passport or other ID with Date-of-Birth to verify the truth of your lies. But this is the way in a country where marriage prospects are eons better if one is younger on account, you see, of ovaries apparently going defunct pass age twenty, and in a world where prospects in general seem better the younger one is. If one person breaks the chain, I am warned, we all fall down and that will not do. So for your collective malaise I'm to sacrifice my individual rights? This will not do. I would like to tell the truth, and, guilty, I do. Only to be glared at by family and friends: what purpose can telling your real age possibly serve? Well, the only purpose that faking one's age serves is perpetuating the myth that youth is fairer and lovelier, and perpetuating the a poisonous culture wherein 'there is a prime for woman' after which she dulls and fades and may as well hide her face and die...
Who has not sat through a movie where a perfectly lovely heroine has been maligned with comments such as 'boori ho gayee hai, thakhi wee lag rahee hai, uus kee Ma lag rahee hai ', she looks aged, she looks tired, she looks like his mother'. I had the pleasure during a recent trip to Pakistan to watch, with a group, the Indian film 'Bhoothnath' starring Amitabh Bachan, Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. Part way into the movie, the men, all around forty years of age, began confirming with each other that indeed Juhi was looking older, much older, indeed she had become decrepit, Shahrukh kee Maa lag rahi hai. The women at the gathering are all thirty plus or younger and they all glance at each other almost guiltily, all perhaps wondering what I was wondering. Really? said I out loud. Shahrukh kee Ma lag rahi hai, is it? You men are welcome to your opinion but pray, do tell, from where exactly does Juhi look old? Because I think she looks bloody gorgeous. Better than any of you any day. And how come she looks old enough for you to merit comment but Amitabh Bachan who is old enough to be her Daddy jee and looks it never-the-less merits not a single comment from the collective-you. I suppose Sean Connery, and Clint Eastwood, and Robert Redford, and Mel Gibson playing strapping, nubile heroes are perfectly kosher with y'all even if they should be babysitting their leading lady rather than romancing her. I am told in, all good humor of course, that I'm insane, and while in Pakistan to shut up and please get with the program and once I return to America (where these gender double standards exist in Hollywood too) to shout out my feelings from the rooftops. And yet, as more popcorn and Sprite and Black Label is brought out, the men do look sheepish and the women decidedly smug even if, come tomorrow, they'll be telling me not be insane, not to under any circumstances, force them into a corner by divulging my real age.

Miss Austen Regrets. What?

2008-05-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

"Jane Austen was described by her contemporary, writer Mary Russell Mitford, as the "prettiest, silliest, most affected husband-hunting butterfly ever"
rest here.

In Jane's case the bimbo has brains. Unless the brothers were writing the novels and did not want to be known as the authors of husband hunting drawing room dramas :) Miss Austen Regrets is a film based on the letters Jane wrote to her sister and niece. The film takes us through the romantic ups and downs of Jane's life until her death. I was braced for a corny movie but ended up enjoying it a lot--a smart and plausible script with excellent acting. I especially liked the scenes between Jane and her mother where the mother berates Jane for ruining them by not marrying and Jane reacts as only a caring yet hard headed daughter will: a stoic silence laced with guilt. Of course we don't know if these scenes really occurred but chances are something akin to them must have for which mother won't mutter away if her aging daughter lets a good prospect go even today not to mention especially in that day and age. I wish there had been more scenes between mother and daughter and who knows maybe someone will write a novel or pen script about the two! I wonder, would Austen be blogging today? What would her blog look like, or her facebook and my space page-- pink and grey, yellow and white, would it have stars on it or stripes, or a cat, many cats or a dog, or black boots and henna, and which song would she download first? Would we even like Jane if she was flitting around today as the prettiest silliest most affected butterfly ever: remind you of anyone? Would Austen be writing what she wrote then now or would it be baby versus career and how to juggle the two if she couldn't afford oodles of domestic help? Certainly if she was born in Pakistan she'd still be writing about women for whom marriage is the only career expected of them... though if Jane was Pakistani you can bet her mother would have made sure she married sooner or later because the typical Pakistani mother (imagine Mrs. Bennet on acid) is an expert at guilt tripping her daughters into getting married...

What if the hand holding the reins is not firm?

2008-05-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

“The coursers of time, lashed by invisible spirits hurry on the light little car of our Destiny: and all we can do is to sit in self-possession to hold the reins with a firm hand, guide the horses and the wheels now to the left, now to the right, avoid a stone here and a precipice there. Whither it is hurrying who can tell! And who indeed can remember the point from where it started.-- Goethe”

A photograph I wish I'd never seen.

2008-04-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

© Jean-Marc Bouju/The Associated Press
An Iraqi man comforts his son at a holding pen for POWs in Najaf, Iraq, March 31, 2003. -- World Press Photo of the Year

This is a photograph I wish I'd never seen. But I did see it. Six years later, it still haunts me. And even today I feel selfish for wishing I'd never seen it-- I felt so ashamed of myself wishing I'd been spared the pain of mere empathy when this father and son, when other parents and children live/or die through this. What was that little boy thinking and feeling? What is that little boy feeling and thinking today? And the father who can only touch his son? Shit world that allows for such circumstances. Someone once informed me the father and son are lucky because at least they got to meet each other and this proves that the captors are humane.
Really? I said. Is that so? Its a topsy turvy world, isn't it, so kcuf u.

"Bouju says the child in the photo caught his attention because it was wailing and screaming. A soldier walked into the holding pen and cut the father's handcuffs so he could comfort the child.
"I have a four-year-old girl and I missed her a lot and I thought she'd be screaming too," Bouju says. "It touched me."
Shortly after the picture was taken, another unit came and took the prisoners away, including the young boy. Bouju was not able to get the name of the father or the son or determine what, if anything, they had done wrong.
rest here"

Are God and Allah the same Being?

2008-04-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve grown up interchanging God and Allah and no Muslim I know has ever pointed out that God-Allah is not the same entity, in fact so ‘normal’ has the interchange become that it has not occurred to me that others might ‘hear’ differently. The other day, however, after making one of my cheekier comments regarding Almighty-God, a friend turned to me with angry eyes.

“How come,” she said, “you always speak of God but never of your Allah in this way?”

I sputtered. Then explained that semantically Allah and God were equivalent.

“Are you,” she did not look any happier, “absolutely sure?”

Well, I’m very happy to draw my friend’s attention to an article by author Rabih Alameddine

“The word for God matters quite a bit more than what lands on one’s table for dinner at night. We never say the French pray to Dieu, or Mexicans pray to Dios. Having Allah be different from God implies that Muslims pray to a special deity. It classifies Muslims as the Other. Separating Allah from God, we only see a vengeful, alarming deity, one responsible for those frightful fatwas and ghastly jihads — rarely the compassionate God. The opening line of every chapter in the Koran is “Bi Ism Allah, Al Rahman, Al Rahim“: In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. In the name of Allah. One and the same.”

rest here
Alameddine's fiction:
The Hakawati
I, the Divine A Novel in First Chapters
Koolaids: The Art of War
The Perv: Stories

Oscar Wao wins the Pulitzer.

2008-04-08T17:18:00.001-07:00

I am thrilled Junot Diaz's novel 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' has won the 2008 Pulitzer for fiction. My mini rave from a while back!

On writing Wao:
'It took me 11 years to struggle through one dumb book, and every day you just want to give up. But you don't find out you're an artist because you do something really well. You find out you're an artist because when you fail you have something within you—strength or belief or just craziness—that picks you back up again. Most of the artists I know will never, fortunately for them, have to face an 11-year hole. Fighting your way out of an 11-year hole is a lot tougher than it might seem.' read rest here

congratulations to the two other fiction finalists, Denis Johnson for Tree of Smoke and Lore Segal for Shakespeare's Kitchen

Literary Auction for Dunbar Village Aid

2008-04-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

All rape and assault are horrendous but reading the details of this particular gang rape and battering of a 12 year old boy and his mother is absolutely sickening, the stuff nightmares are made of. The mother and her son require monetary help and writer Tayari Jones has organized an e-bay auction of short story and novel critiques as well as other goodies with all proceeds going to mother and son. You can also send donations directly.

God Revisited

2008-04-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

David Plotz knew religion in ‘bits and pieces’ –he knew a bit of this, he remembered a piece of that, the rest he picked up along the way. Then one day in adulthood he attends a Bar Mitzvah and picks up the Good Book and opens it and reads it and what he reads startles him enough to read more and record what he comes away reading. This record makes for a hysterical series called Blogging the Bible. Here’s an example:

“Moses leads the Israelites into the wilderness—Day 1 of their 40-year trek. They immediately complain that they’re thirsty and the only available water is bitter. We’re a grumbling people, aren’t we? Freedom after 430 years of captivity, and nothing to do but grouse. The Israelites had crabbed to Moses when Pharaoh made them gather their own straw. When the Egyptian army pursued them to the Sea of Reeds, they had griped to Moses that they would rather have stayed in Egypt as slaves than die by the sea. Now they’re fussing that they’re thirsty. God gives Moses a piece of wood that cleans up the water—the world’s first Brita filter. “

read rest of post on PTH

Aasem Bakshi brings to my attention Ziauddin Sardar Blogging the Quran for The Guardian. And Robert Spencer is also Blogging the Quran for HotAir. Reading these interpretations side by side should be fun (even if they're not written in Plotz's satirical fashion which made BTB such a delightful read). For instance the first verse in the Quran is The Opening (Al-Fatiha) and Spencer is preoccupied with whom the verse's last two lines refer to and illustrate his exploration of the Quran is in order to understand it within a '9/11 how-could-they' context:

'The final two verses of the Fatiha asks Allah: “Show us the straight path, the path of those whom Thou hast favoured; not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.” The traditional Islamic understanding of this is that the “straight path” is Islam — cf. Islamic apologist John Esposito’s book Islam: The Straight Path. The path of those who have earned Allah’s anger are the Jews, and those who have gone astray are the Christians.'

Sardar's exploration is more nuanced and detailed and, interesting enough, he neither spends much time on the final two lines nor is there any mention of Jews or Christians. Rather Sardar concentrates on what is referred to, in The Opening, as the straight path, 'sirat-ul-mustakeen', and Medaliane Bunting-- her role is to ask Sardar questions a non-Muslim might have about the text--brings up interesting contrasts and comparisons with the Bible.

'Common to both Christianity and Islam is the image of the path, and the spiritual life as a journey. These are very important ideas in Christianity and I wondered whether you can explain more on how this image is used in Islam...The implication is that it's hard to follow the Christian path and the gate is narrow, but the Qur'an seems to be using the image differently; can you explain? Finally, can you expand on what stops human beings following the path? In Christianity, the explanation is that fallen human nature makes it hard for us to find and follow the narrow path. Does Islam have a belief about the Fall and original sin? What explanation is there in Islam for why all human beings aren't jogging happily along the Straight Path?'

I have always believed the straight path means means being the best human being you can possibly be regardless of whether you pray five times a day or not. The one saying of Prophet Muhammed which has always been of great comfort to me is that 'actions will be judged by intentions' i.e. God can see the hypocrite beneath the pious on the prayer mat.

Cook for your family three time a day, daily plus snacks?

2008-04-04T13:07:00.001-07:00

I met a man who asked me if I cooked? No, at least not very often. But what does the family eat. Out, I said. He looked decidedly discomfited to be stuck in a car with a woman who did not look sufficiently guilty for not being connected more closely to her stove. I did feel guilty though, a little bit, as if some dirty part of me was out and about. This man, he'll be okay if his wife wants to work outside the house, that's her choice, but it's his choice that she cooks dinner too, daily because, he tells me in all earnestness, that's her duty, her first duty. At least, he grins, I'm honest about what I want? When I was his age I was honest but I didn't know what I wanted or how to disconnect my wants from what my parents wanted for me. And the girls that did know wanted really rich guys to marry them, that's all. Back then I'd given them the same look I gave the man today who asked me if I cooked. But between then and now there is a difference in emotions behind those siamese looks.

India versus America: diversity in the political sphere

2008-03-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Myth or fact: in America opportunity is equal and color, gender and religion no cause for a brouhaha? Here's a refreshing op-ed in The Hindu by Vidya Subrahmaniam about the biases in the Melting Pot's media circus, as well as why India trumps the US.

'The point is: Why should a Muslim connection be treated as an offense? Mr. Obama’s supporters ought to have been proud of his middle name, holding that up as a symbol of American multiculturalism. Instead, they have cringed at the thought that he could be mistaken for a Muslim. Perhaps this is the truth of a country that is still grappling with race, continues to be squeamish about gender and goes ballistic at the mention of Islam.' read rest here

Review of Indian Movie 'Jab We Met'

2008-03-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

‘Jab We Met’ (2007) is a prime example of an Indian movie meshing traditional and modern India in its characters but coming off confused. Poor little rich boy Aditya (played perfectly by Shahid Kapoor) and madcap Geet (Kareena Kapoor) meet on a train, the singular motif in the movie and, as such, one which hinges on all the usual cliches: life equals train tracks, decisions equal getting on or off trains and, most banal, because Geet keeps missing her trains she and Aditya are thrown together on a journey which will eventually lead to their…but let me not spoil the hackneyed ending. Kareena plays quite well the scatterbrained, chatterbox if slightly irritating Geet, a girl so full of life her words bubble over, her laugh is a nervous titter, and she sees good in everything and everyone even a stranger yelling at her to shut up, which is what Aditya does the first time he and Geet meet. Soon, however, Geet realizes that there are some lemons even she cannot make lemonade out of, and suddenly Geet goes from bubbly to morose, an emotional condition which is tritely symbolized by her dress. A bubbly Geet wears short sleeve shirts and tight jeans (in fact her old world grandfather wonders aloud that if Geet can dress like this at home then in Mumbai she’s probably roaming around naked), while a depressed Geet appears in shalwars and long sleeved shapeless kurtas draped with dupattas, her hair tied back and her gaze always turned down. So a happy girl dresses Western (Indian-modern?) and an unhappy girl dresses Eastern (Indian-traditional)?

read rest here

archived under 'shame' because the inclusion of the rape repartee is shameful

little mo

2008-03-17T05:03:00.000-07:00

i don't like to write about my children, ...today was my due date. march 17th.
she will never forget you (who you would have been with her, with us, within this world). she will never forget the sharp-soft features of your small small face. the second it took for you to birth into her hands. the dread of what had happened coupled-overcome by the love she felt. never forget everything you and she went through even as she hopes she never goes through it again. your mother loved you...loves you. she will miss you, and the other two, who never came home either, but live in her heart. every day. death is negative space-- here, and everywhere and yet nowhere.

The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

2008-03-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

What Diaz does is writing; what the rest do is waste ink and paper.

(o.k. not all the rest)

A novel about a fat boy looking to get un-virgined. Read this novel. today. sad, un-sad, real, un-real. with an energy writhing off the damn page. in an english that is english!

here's an excerpt

and here's Diaz answering questions
and here's Diaz and Danticat in conversation

Election 2008 Results - Pakistan returns to that elusive democratic learning curve*

2008-02-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

In a Q & A with the Financial Times (February 8th, 2008) concerning the upcoming elections in Pakistan, novelist Tariq Ali stipulates “Very few people in Pakistan believe that the elections will be fair. The interim government is packed with Musharraf cronies, the Election Commission likewise. The only question is whether the results will be cleverly or crudely rigged.”

From all reports neither a clever nor crude rigging has proven to be the case. Good for Musharraf that he ‘allowed’ the people their say, and very good for us the people that International watchdogs closely monitored the proceedings. In fact, over all the elections were conducted peacefully with no discernible rigging and the results speak as much: the opposition parties won the majority of seats, this despite the President’s rather ominous prediction that his party was going to win… (What was his motive behind this? If the voting was not to be rigged, why give statements casting blemish on ‘free and fair’? Or was he simply full of faith that indeed the people, the Qaum, they love him?)

Well, whatever the President’s state of mind, the state of the country seems on the mend thanks to the people who turned out to vote. And double thanks to the voters in the northern areas for the defeat of the Taliban-types though one must keep in mind that the Taliban type parties boycotted the elections in protest of the Lal Masjid incident, and so were not available to be voted in. Also boycotting the election was Imran Khan’s Tehrik-e-Insaaf party in protest of the ousting of the Supreme Court Justices. Had these parties been standing, would the election results be the same? Might there have even been higher voter turn out? Out of 80 million registered voters in the country only around 35 % showed up. Why? A general apathy after the President’s predictions? A frustration with the same old political parties standing anew? A fear of random bombings and mayhem?

Uplifting election results withstanding, the threat of random violence (state or non-state instigated) remains, and the public is dubious regarding political parties—both PPP and PML-N— whose past performances in office have been far from laudatory. Well, at least Pakistanis can’t be accused of completely forgetting past conduct. Let us then remind ourselves of the years 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999 when either the late Benazir Bhutto or Nawaz Sharif were unceremoniously dismissed from power. In all cases, far from an uproar most Pakistanis then were rather complacent if not outright pleased. Well, here we are, 2008, and the same parties are in the majority again and this time the army, savior-in-general, is also in the doghouse. Not that the army should ever be the solution to end a democratically elected government no matter how botched a job they’re doing. As Pakistan has witnessed in the recent past, a dictator, no matter how benevolent, is at the end of the day a dictator.

Fact remains that Musharraf has maneuvered himself to be President elect for the next five years. Recently Nawaz Sharif ‘vowed to impeach Mr. Musharraf if he (Nawaz) had the combined support of two thirds of the parliament’. After yesterday’s results as we await the full picture of the coalition to emerge, it is necessary to remember that there is a time for political punches and there is a time for handshakes and that now is the time for handshakes no matter how half hearted. Hopefully the opposition parties are not so keen to wrought ‘justice’ that they forget their first duty is not to address personal grievances but rather to do what is best for Pakistan today, and tomorrow when things have settled down and the PPP and PML-N recall that not only do they have issues with Musharraf but that they were not always best of friends amongst themselves.

Only time will tell whether Pakistan will fall into fusion or into further friction…Here’s to hoping that, one day, we learn—rich, poor, young, old— to vote for party policies rather than personalities. For now, regardless of the caliber of the personalities/parties voted in, the cause for celebration is a return to democratic process and thereby a return to a nation’s democratic learning curve, for only in voting again and again and again will we one day get it right, or as close to right as is possible anywhere. In the meantime, let’s also hope no one gets injured from the celebratory fireworks going off in every street and every corner of Pakistan.

*originally posted on Pak Tea House

Books into Film at the 2008 Oscars, and Pride and Prejudice

2008-02-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl I always read my Anne of Green Gables and Donna Parker and St. Claires and dreamed them into film. When I was a little older, my tween excitement knew no bounds upon finding the Famous Five and Timmy the dog striding across a field on TV. Of course as I got older and older it no longer sufficed to see a book character in living color a la Disneyland 'loooook there's Winnie the Pooh', rather I hoped the film version would prove as enjoyable as the book if not, in its own way, more satisfactory. Some novels and films turn out to be masterpieces in their own right i.e. no matter how many makes and remakes of Pride and Prejudice are churned out, not one has yet been able to capture the nuances of the novel and yet the lovely 1995 A&E/BBC adaptation with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth holds its own (and Mr. Collin's is played to perfection). And yet without novel, without novelist, there would be no Elizabeth and Darcy, no Mr. Collins and Lydia, no film after film after film adaptation. The 2008 Oscars are in many respects the books to movies Oscars with three* of the five best film nominees based on novels and yet, as David Ulin writes in the LA times, there was no mention of the novelists, as usual.

"...if these kinds of movies have anything to tell us, it's that interiority can sometimes play itself out on screen. Is this an indication that Hollywood has finally become more sympathetic toward writers, that we might move beyond a century of misunderstanding and disdain? Not very likely, the settlement of the WGA strike notwithstanding." read rest here

*Atonement by Ian McEwan
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
There Will be Blood by Upton Sinclair
the other two nominees were Juno and Michael Clayton

The Sacred Place: a novel by Daniel Black

2008-02-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

Daniel Black's excellent novel 'The Sacred Place' is based on the 1955 racial murder of fourteen year old Emmett Till. Here's a quote from Black's novel:

"How arrogant it is, Jeremiah thought, for people to expect a Black man to remain humble when he's contantly being downtrodden. He would have to be Jesus to manage that kind of nonviolent forgiveness, and even then Jeremiah wasn't sure he admired such meekness. In the end, it always meant being trampled upon in the service of some higher principle in which, obviously, only the oppressed believe. Righteousness had not borne the fruit Jeremiah's ancestors promised it would, and, for the time being he simply wanted to win. Just once. He wanted the thrill of victory, the recognition by his enemies that he had beaten them, and the life of of children to prove it. Others had warned that God's wrath would visit itself upon him if he exacted justice on his own terms, so, trying not to anger an all powerful God, Jeremiah had surrendered to a non-confrontational mode of resistance until the day Cecil and the Cuthbert boys tried to take his grandson away. After then, Jeremiah determined that God would have to so whatever God was going to do because apparently his people had never considered that righteousness and whipping white folks' asses might be one and the same."

There is also a lovely monologue in the novel about what a relief it is to take off a damn bra at the end of a long day, or any time of the day.

On novels that take a long time getting written

2008-02-04T17:31:00.001-08:00

John Dalton took eight years to write his novel Heaven Lake. On this winding way he was asked the one question sure to induce a sinking heart: DONE YET? I guess he was asked enough times for him to write this poignant essay, 'Done Yet? Struggling with the Novel'. So many sentiments in this essay touched me but the line that settled deep:

"There is a popular and entirely false belief that every talented person who follows a dream eventually meets with success."
rest of John's essay here

My father grew me up with the conviction that every hard working person, sooner or later, will meet with just fruits. In my experience this is far from the truth too. John's story ends happily; I want to know what happens to the hearts of the 'talented and determined people (who) fail all the time'.

'Visa Blues'

2008-01-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

No matter where an immigrant makes their home they have a country of origin, a country they believe 'their's' whether they return or not. Hafiza Nilofar Khan believed the same of Bangladesh. Only did Bangladesh believe it too? Yet another twist in the story of 'where am I, who am I, why am I.'

Nilofar writes:

When I had a civil marriage in St. Helens, Oregon in the year 1998 with a Caucasian American, my father was alarmed since he believed that a Muslim woman cannot marry a Christian man without first converting him into Islam. In my gender ignorance about Islamic rules, I tried to pacify my distressed father by arguing that people who are “ehlekitab”, meaning, believers in the book (Torah, Bible or Koran) may marry each other without having to convert. When my father retorted that only Muslim men are allowed to marry a non-Muslim woman, and not vice versa, I did not grasp the full significance of the convention, and took it for my own religiously inclined father's desire to have a Muslim son-in-law. This August, when I was allowed to leave Dhaka only after paying eighty thousand taka to the Passport and Immigration office in fees and fine, and going through endless stress on account of having a foreigner for a husband, and a daughter, did I realise the actual import of my father's premonitions. If my father were alive today, he might have said, “I forewarned you"
read the rest here

'The Liar's Diary' by Patry Francis

2008-01-30T15:58:00.001-08:00

In my blog-jog this morning I found blog entries for Patry Francis at both Tess Gerritsen's blog (Tess is a fine thriller writer and her blog is amazingly forthright about writerly issues) and Gayle Brandeis' blog (I initially found Gayle's work because I'm a huge fan of Barbara Kingsolver (most specially the novel 'The Poisonwood Bible') and Gayle's novel The Book of Dead Birds won a Bellwether , a literary prize for novels in support of social change founded by Kingsolver. Turns out they are part of a blog drive (so far 300 + blogs) to blog about Patry's novel 'The Liar's Diary' while she recovers from cancer surgery. So I followed links to Patry's blog and discovered a warm, wise, funny voice. Here's the entry where Patry is told her novel is sold. And entries like this one conjure up the word 'grace'. And here is an excerpt from 'The Liar's Diary', a story about a murder and a woman riven between loyalty to family or friend.

'Atonement'- the film

2008-01-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

It's tough for novels with complex structures to translate well onto film; Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' is no exception. The film is beyond insipid when compared to the rich novel which I loved for its dexterous structure and surprise 'writer's writer's' ending, and especially the kids performing protagonist Briony's old play-- a fitting symbol for the circularity of life, and creativity. Consequently I went to watch the film eagerly awaiting a rendition of this scene and, instead, got Vanessa Redgrave giving a monologue i.e. not just cop out, but also complete murder of the novel. Had I not read the novel and been so full of expectation, I would still have been disappointed despite the fine cinematography and acting and costumes etc...I went to watch it with a friend who has not read the novel and she had the same issues with it as did I--a slow middle, a dragging war scene, times twists that were poorly (if at all) captured on celluloid...
Am a bit perplexed over Atonement's Oscar nomination in the best film category.

Loving or Hating Arundhati Roy?

2008-01-29T17:24:00.000-08:00

*Saba Bhaumik's opinion piece in Outlook India once again attempts to explain why Indians may not be madly in love with Arundhati Roy while the West supposedly is but Bhaumik doesn't say anything that hasn't already been said a million times: Indian males are envious coz Roy is smart, the women are confused by her outspokeness and, while Roy's hair styles challenge beauty norms, her sense of style sets dressing trends. Ye Gods, cries the plaited, sari wearing, stay at home Indian woman according to Bhaumik, how does Roy do it. Bhaumik should get off the looks wagon--traditional or modern-- and go straight for the brains-- Roy's politics. I do think Bhaumik has a point about Roy's controversial politics and how her views have made her a household name in many worlds but it would have been stronger to have cited reasons other than

the Sunday Times carried a full-page article that somewhat absurdly equated Roy with Victoria Beckham, both described as "role models for young British women". Ridiculous as the comparison between a sexy footballer-wife-pop-star and a serious novelist-essayist may be, it does reveal that Roy has been an icon in the West for some years now.

Roy's greatest crime of course is that of perceived anti-nationalism i.e. not yelling, pompoms aloft, 'East or West, India is the best.' How popular would Roy be if she was American-- or lived in America-- and did not say 'East or West, America is the best and always right'? Or in any country where she was to go against the status quo? Roy's 'style, articulation and high profile causes' may get her attention in the West but is she really an icon? Do women and men look to her for courage to stand up for the depressing issues of the day be it how 'really' poor people are going to fend for themselves, or whether a particular 'terrorist' ('freedom fighter'?) is guilty or framed ? Recently Arundhati was on the US radio show Democracy Now saying that, when she talks to journalists from the West, all they want to hear is how absolutely great things in India are and how the great is getting greater by the day. If she goes against that she's suddenly not the most popular guest around. I must add that it hardly escapes notice how journalist after journalist never fail to mention how petite and pretty she is and of course what state her hair is in. If she was obese and plain looking and had ratty hair how much attention would anyone give to what she has to say? Or would her words have more weight, no pun intended? As for Bhaumik's supposition that 'most of us still think of Roy as a Booker Prize winning author of a novel we have never read', I'm assuming she means that Indians have not read it and, with that assumption, I'd like to know which Indians she's talking about because, if there's one novel I would think they'd actually have read, it would be The God of Small Things. This is certainly true in Pakistan where Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children' and Naipal's 'A House for Mr. Biswas' may grace many an English reader's bookshelf but it is Roy's lone ranger that has actually been read.

*entry originally posted in Jan 2007 in my once-upon-a-time blog, drunkonink

The Translator by Leila Aboulela

2008-01-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

Leila Aboulela’s novel The Translator is a refreshing read about a Muslim woman neither struggling to live life according to the mini skirt or battling against an arranged marriage, but rather falling in love with a non-Muslim, and how she reconciles with that. In fact, Samaar, Aboulela’s protagonist, is a widow who has left her young son in Sudan with her mother in law while she herself comes to Scotland. Another writer might have mined this parent/child dichotomy and explored what sort of a woman-mother can leave her child, and is she a good mother, or mother at all etc...etc...; thank God Aboulela does not go that way. Instead, the reader is forced to contend with a woman who sees herself not as a mother first, but rather as a Muslim, a Muslim woman who has a life other than her son, and who makes no apologies for it. Moreover, when Sammar does meet her son, there are no weary scenes of the ‘you abandoned me, and I’m damaged, and now will need therapy for the rest of my life.' Instead he's grown up happily with his grandmother and cousins and extended family and loves his mother well enough. Refreshing. As is Samaar who lives by her religion so much so that although she can fall in love with Rae, a non-Muslim, her conscience allows her to go no further; yet further Samaar does go, and Aboulela handles this part of the narrative with great emotional dexterity. I also very much enjoyed the quiet flow of the prose, the descriptions of Scotland, the small minded comedy around a communal phone, and the everyday details of translating for a Middle East scholar. I did, however, think the ending a bit hurried, and Rae’s eventual decision not explored to the depths required to make it seem natural. Also, sometimes, Samaar comes across as a bit too desperate to get married/settle down/not be alone for the rest of her life. For all that The Translator is a good read, and a soothing read, a wonderful alternative to all the conflicted immigrant, East-West confusion novels.

read a review in Al-Ahram.

Reviews of my short story 'The Breast'

2008-01-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

My short story 'The Breast' is included in this anthology published by Harper Collins, India. This mini-review is from Women's Writing.

Neither Night nor Day
Thirteen stories by women writers from Pakistan
Edited by Rakhshanda Jalil
Harper Collins
Rs 250

Soniah Kamal raises the bar with the book's sixth story, The Breast, a riveting tale about a woman whose breast is about to be cut off for a crime she's committed: nursing a stranger's baby after her own baby girl was lost to infanticide. From hereon the collection vastly improves. Sorayya Khan artfully immortalizes the cruelties of Partition in Five Queen's Street, in which an adolescent girl is frozen with fear as she watches the kidnap of her Hindu neighbor by an angry Muslim mob. Bina Shah's heart-wrenching 'The Wedding of Sundri', a story set in pastoral Pakistan that culminates in the honor killing of a 12-year-old bride, leaves readers gasping for breath. Although offering an unadulterated glimpse of present-day Pakistan, the second half of this book ends up showing Indian readers that they still have much in common with their neighbors to the north.

In Dawn Pakistan.
REVIEW: Her side of the story
Reviewed by Akbar S. Ahmed

.... Next up is Soniah Kamal's The Breast. Kamal is a very talented writer, one who reaches the heights of creativity in this allegory. Her protagonist faces the wrath of the cruel tribunal that rules her land, and they literally want their pound of flesh. Or seven, as she explains — her breast is to be cut off, for the ultimate crime of suckling another’s child after her own, a girl, was taken away to be buried. Smart, captivating and well-written, this short parable is certainly one of the best stories in this grouping, and the twist at the end just makes it more gripping. read review
here
In the Tribune India.
review by Priyanka Singh
Then there is The Breast by Soniah Kamal which talks of the misery, the whole gamut of tortuous feelings a mother, a woman can possibly undergo in a matter of a few hours.

It depicts the deadness of a mother when she is told that her baby girl has to be put away. That her little one was asleep when they laid her down. That she continued to sleep even when the first shovel of grit fell on her face sandwiched between tiny fists ... "bold in her crying silence".

It talks of a tribunal that is merciless and pronounces that a breast has to be butchered only because a mother wanted to satisfy her maternal instinct to feel tiny lips drawing nourishment from her, no matter if it wasn’t her own baby.

Truly, a story that wrenches the heart and leaves it aching with sorrow because for someone it may not be a story alone, but a dark fear that has to be endured.
read review here

'Hard Edged Brilliance' A December 2007 Interview with Zulfiqar Ghose

2008-01-02T09:10:00.000-08:00

Of Pakistani origin, Zulfiqar Ghose is one of the first novelist and poet to be published internationally to great acclaim. Interviewed in Dawn, the prolific Ghose finds that at age 73 his work is going unpublished and his literary agent telling him ‘If you were a 27 year old beautiful woman, I could easily sell your first novel. But for a man...writing his umpteenth novel, forget it!’ Ghose is not yet disenchanted by the publishing industry, but I'm quite upset on behalf of all 27 year olds with unpublished books in tow who, while meeting the specified age, fail to be beautiful too...

cross posted at Desilit where you can read the entire interview

Nawaz Sharif : destiny dances

2008-01-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Ex-Pm Nawaz Sharif probably never imagined in his wildest dreams that, after attempting to enter Pakistan on September 10, 2007 only to be unceremoniously sent back to Saudi Arabia the very same day, he would fly in ceremoniously a mere two months later (Nov 25). Or that, another month later, he would be in the sanctimonious position he's in. As Pakistanis will say with a snap of fingers 'kismet aisay badaltee hai' i.e. it takes a moment for destiny to change.
To herald in the new year via the Washington Post, Sharif advocates the following imminent changes Pakistan deserves:

1- Musharraf should go
2- a broad based 'national unity' government should be installed
3- the 1973 constitution reinstated
4- all curbs on the media should be removed
5- and impartial elections be held so that, and here I quote: "the people are able to choose their representatives for a Parliament and government that can be trusted to rebuild the country rather than serve the agenda of a dictator. These are the only steps that will give the country a semblance of stability"

To get all wrapped up in semantics, why just a 'semblance' i.e. a superficial show and not actual stability (at least a degree of)?

In 1999 Musharraf ousted Sharif from office in a bloodless coup. Then, that was considered the only step that would have given the country the semblance, indeed a return to stability and, after the coup most people went about their lives without batting an eyelash. But, that was then and this is now and, like I said, it takes a moment for destiny to change.

Democracy Within, Democracy Without

2007-12-30T14:06:00.001-08:00

In the wake of BB's assassination, per her will, her (not too popular) husband Asif Zardari was to be the chairperson of PPP, however, Zardari then bequeathed the role to their 19 yr old son, Bilawal, who will become chairperson (for life, I presume...) as soon as his studies at Oxford end. So continues the Bhutto legacy in Pakistani politics. If democracy is PPP's ideal for the country, then why is it not ideal within the party itself? Why Bilawal rather than a 'democratically' elected chairperson? Whither the actual chances of democracy within Pakistan when political parties are run as dynasties. Mr. Married Me reminds me that, sadly, political parties in Pakistan are entirely personality/dynasty based instead of ideals/policy based. Yet here was a perfect opportunity to change this status quo and make the PPP indeed a party of the people and not a Bhutto fiefdom...

I hear the media and people in general telling me that this is how it is, that Pakistan needs this as a symbol of unity, that this is the great and holy concept of tradition : well this is not how it should be. Tradition and all its traditional entrapments have never been valid arguments for me in any sphere and never will be. What I find most ridiculous is when people I think perfectly intelligent, or whom at least pretend to wear the mantle of thinking beings, inform me with the most serious of faces and the most educating of miens about the sacrosanct status of tradition in politics pertaining to country or family and how I really must get with this program.

William Dalrymple gives this insight into BB's reading material:

Benazir's favourite reading was royal biographies and slushy romances: on a visit to her old Karachi bedroom, I found stacks of well-thumbed Mills & Boons lining the walls; a striking contrast to the high-minded and cultured Indira Gandhi, in some ways her nearest Indian counterpart in their flawed centrality to their respective nations' histories.

romance and the royal biography on your bookshelf is no sin for a leader of a country, but for it to be your sole reads....hmm....here's to hoping Bilawal's tastes are more eclectic and in tune with his newly bequeathed responsibilities...

"Rudy Giuliani is the Guy to Get Rid of the Muslims"

2007-12-29T08:42:00.000-08:00

Why should Rudy Giuliani become President of the US?
Because, says one of his campaign officials, Rudy has what it takes to bring about the solution to the 'rise of the Muslim problem' i.e. he'll get rid of them by sending them (all of them! hurrah!) back to their caves.
I sincerely urge voters to please please vote for Rudy in these upcoming elections. His beliefs prove that he is one smart cookie who wants nothing more but to spread goodwill and peace amongst mankind. And if Rudy is not good looking enough for you, then please please consider Obama who believes in invading sovereign nations without their government's permission for, what else, the good of humanity. But then naturally this is a pure and good belief to hold since Iraq is turning out so successful an invasion.

Daughter of the East: Benazir Bhutto 1953-2007

2007-12-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Two time serving ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on 27th December, 2007 in Pakistan. To my immigrant eyes Benazir Bhutto was an opportunity to be proud of my birth country for she was a female leader, and that too of a Muslim country and often, despite her unremarkable terms in office, I was able to say to skeptics in the US that of course Americans are ready to elect a female leader, Pakistan has already done so!

While it is a valid claim that the Bhutto surname gave Benazir a political leg up, it is also true that she was bold and brave in her own right for she stood-- the lone woman-- in rooms often packed with men only, the lone woman at a dais speaking to crowds of men only, a woman talking of matters predominantly associated with the male domain, and so challenged the stereotypes of 'what women anywhere can do', as well what a Muslim woman is capable of and, additionally, the stereotype of Muslim societies being naturally misogynistic.

Politically Benazir 'grew me up' . When she first stood for elections, I would have voted for her purely because she was a woman but, by the time I was old enough to vote, her terms in office had taught me to vote, not for gender, but for the best candidate. In her 1988 memoir Daughter of the East, a young Benazir talks of coming of age both as a woman and politically: growing up a Bhutto, living through her father's hanging by General Zia, her own years incarcerated in solitary confinement under General Zia's rule...I read Benazir's memoir when I was a teenager and have been meaning to reread it since. It will be with great sadness that I will do so now. Whether one liked or disliked Benazir's politics, whether one believed she truly cared about Pakistan or was just another politician greedy for power, for Pakistanis everywhere it is surreal that Benazir is gone, just like that, at age 54 when much of Pakistan was expecting that, in a few months, she would get yet another chance to lead Pakistan.

Here MicroPakistan reviews an updated edition (April 2007) of Daughter of the East, and HarperCollins is now planning a February 2008 release of Benazir's new book, 'Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West '.

* What disturbs me most about Benazir the person is her supposed hand in her brother's (Murtaza challenged her position as head of the PPP for life) shady murder during one of her terms in office. Murtaza's wife Ginwa, their daughter the erudite Fatima Bhutto (author of a published book of poetry), and even Benazir's mother believes in her culpability: no doubt one's family can be wrong about one....but, on the other hand, one's family can also be right...
To be Benazir and have had your brother murdered (out, out damn spot), or to be innocent and yet have your mother and sister in law and niece believe this of you (et tu, brutus): in either case, a sad case.

Benazir Bhutto. Assasinated.

2007-12-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Its seems unbelievable. Benazir. Dead. Was it just the other day I was watching news snippets of BB speaking in Larkana and addressing herself as 'aap kee behen' to the Larkana folk and me jesting that aap kee behen needs new glasses (because I do need new glasses, and have always been fascinated by the veritable goggles Benazir always wore: in her last speech though, the goggles were replaced by glasses which suited her face-- and I wonder, what happens to those glasses, and I feel sadder and sicker.)

I feel sick with sadness, and loss, and for her kids. How does one sit down with one's children and say 'beta, this field that I'm in, it could get me assassinated." How does a child, no matter what family legacy dictates, reconcile with the fact that, as much as their parent loves them, they continued in this potentially life threatening field. With anguish at their parent being something other than simply Mom or Dad? Or pride at their parent's convictions? Or a bit of both?

-this is not how politicians should die. in Pakistan. anywhere.
- Benazir was such a fixture on the political scene...
My Khaloo used to be Benazir's speech writer. I met her at a dinner party at their place. During the customary 'foto with the family' session she sat the middle of a sofa with us 'family' surrounding her. Later my Khala hung a blow up in her living room. When you see BB, day after day, on your Aunt's living room wall sitting amidst your family, she becomes part of it, for an odd moment, too.

Today I feel very Pakistani.
Today I am a Pakistani.
In grief.

22 others also lost their lives during the assassination.

Slavery in 2007

2007-12-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

In November a show titled 'Competition' aired on This American Life. Act 1, Cowboys and Indians (though not those Indians) is about a group of Indian workers brought from India with promise of subsequent green cards etc...to Oklahoma to work in a factory where they find everything is not as they were told. Mr. Pickles, the factory owner who recruited them, finds himself in a pickle (no pun) when trying to get in tune with globalization in this way, and eventually the Indians, through sheer good luck, manage to find help. The story is infused with moral and ethical questions, beginning with the cost of exotification on both sides i.e. India very very poor/ US great good & plenty. I think Ira Glass ends in a particularly interesting way: Mr. Pickles might or might not be wrong about his assumptions concerning India, but the Indian workers found the US shining after all...
link to the show
John Bowe has written a book on on the sordid incident:
Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy

Enchanted: a fairy tale film?

2007-11-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

Enchanted is Disney's new movie about an animated Princess who finds herself lost in real world New York, but everything turns out happily ever after. Of course. Which would have been nice for me too, because I went to the cinema in the best of moods looking forward to an uplifting hour or so only for my mood to steadily go down. spoiler alert: the evil guy (played by Timothy Spall in pic) tempting our blonde blue eyed princess with a poisonous apple pretends to be
1) a gyspy (?) with a very distinct Arabic accent
2) an Italian (?) with jet black hair and long curly mustache who sounds suspiciously enough like, who else, an Arab.
3) a Sikh (no question mark about it) with his orange turban and long beard

Sorry to say these blatant stereotypes of 'what evil incarnate, little children, will sound and look like' ruined an otherwise delightful movie for sensitive old me. Am I being too sensitive?
This reminded me of Disney's The Lion King in which the bad hyenas sounded like African Americans. There was an uproar over that, not that anyone at Disney seemed to learn or care. The Lion King made tons of money, and so will Enchanted. Case Closed.