Book Review Title: The Blind Lady’s Descendants Author: Anees Salim Publisher: Penguin India 2015 Pages: 301 Price: Rs 399 A metaphorical blindness is part of most people’s lives. We fail to see many things and hence live partial lives. We make our lives as well as those of others miserable with our blindness. Anees Salim’s novel which won the Raymond & Crossword award for fiction in 2014 explores the role played by blindness in the lives of a few individuals most of whom belong to the family of Hamsa and Asma. The couple are not on talking terms for “eighteen years,” according to the mother. When Amar, the youngest son and narrator of the novel, points out that he is only sixteen, Asma reduces it to fifteen and then to ten years when Amar refers to the child that was born a few years after him though it did not survive. Dark humour spills out of every page of the book. For example: How reckless Akmal was! Sleeping with his mouth wide open righ
Cerebrate and Celebrate
Hahaha..Just like the Iskcon guys sucks our Money in the name of service to God even money is not needed for the service of God
ReplyDeleteI borrowed the pic from ISKCON but did not intend to make fun of them. I was referring to the normal tendency of certain species (of people, particularly) who are bent upon sucking the blood of others when there are far better things to be extracted!
DeleteI know you're not making fun of them but everyone knows the truth they are sucking People's money in the name of service to god...I am not referring to God I am referring to the Iskcon Guys not only Iskcon but most of the Big temples in India they are taking it up as a business..
DeleteI too was wondering what you would be doing on the ISKCON site? I thought you were an atheist(who was by birth a Christian).
ReplyDeleteI was doing nothing at the ISKCON site, Sid. I just google for a picture of a smiling cow and google landed me at ISKCON :)
DeleteWow! What a parable! Milk is your cup of tea! Blood is your Boss' cup of tea! Ha..Ha.. What a Dairy! Hats of to you, sir.
ReplyDeleteWings, see how you applied it to life around you and found the small post relevant and meaningful. There are lots of people in the world who can find it similarly relevant and meaningful.
DeleteBy the way, I should make it clear that the idea is borrowed from a Malayalam poet whose name I can't recall.
That poem is one that perplexed me always, as biologically speaking nothing wrong in what the mosquito is doing. But from the view point of a creature that likes milk more than blood, its wrong. And I get confused thinking what is absolute right, if there is such a thing.
ReplyDeleteThe poem is not about absoluteness, Santhosh. At any rate, is there anything absolute outside the world of mathematical sciences? The poem conveys the idea that even when there are a lot of good things to be looked at many people would rather go looking for the ugly side of reality.
DeleteCows and mosquitoes don't read literature, you see. It's all for us, those who create meaning with words.
This is all about ordination, which you have narrated in few simple lines. And, that is why most of the people are "Nearer the Church, And Farther the God".
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, Excellent.....
You know, by mentioning ISKCON I was merely acknowledging the source of the pic. The post has little to do with religion, though it can be applied to religion as well.
DeleteYou are right: those who wear the trappings of religion on their sleeve are the least religious.
wow.. simple and a wonderful parable. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Deletehahhaa I see sir- ISKCON grabbed the unwanted attention out here.Anyways.. on the amazing story .. Ask a corrupt - Need Money or Nirvana .. and you know the answer :D .. my owl interprets so :)
ReplyDeleteThe advantage with allegories is that one can interpret it in a million ways. I'm happy I could elicit the natural that is very congenial to you.
DeleteI was hoping to read a gripping story ... but this one is brilliant :D
ReplyDeleteThis could be one of the shortest stories you ever read :)
DeleteHello sir. Actually like sangeeta said, i too felt there would be some short story ahead. But this one liner is subtle and far more effective.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a few words can convey much. Thanks, Ritesh. But I must acknowledge my debt to a Malayalam poet for this achievement.
DeleteLOL...people are more interested in petty things :P
ReplyDeleteMay not always be petty, Pankti. Sometimes the interests can be lethal.
DeleteWhat seems lethal is not always lethal when you look at it from the macro level. At least, that's my observation has been until now.
DeleteThis is absolutely brilliant.
ReplyDelete