Have you ever watched the video of a remixed Indian movie song, especially, those of Hindi movies? A song, which was immortalized by the mellifluous voice of the singers, brilliant music composition of some doyen of the music industry, acted to perfection by some of the greatest faces of Indian film industry and what these producers of such ‘remixes’ do is to pick up songs like those, and tarnish them by adding some lousy noises in the name of pop music, then ‘spice the video up’ with some B-grade actress who wears more skin than clothes and for whom the only major expression possible is to part the lips seductively and keep her face with an obscene, longing look!
‘The Great Indian Novel’ is one such a remix, er, book. Mr.Tharoor has picked up two of the greatest periods of the Indian history, that act as beacons of hope and guidance for the current crop of Indians – The Mahabharata and the Indian Independence Movement, shuffled the pages of these phases like one shuffles a pack of cards and once he is convinced that they have been shuffled enough, has laid them to print. He has picked up the lead personalities of the Indian Independence Movement and sent them on a journey across time, by casting them as the lead characters of the great epic – The Mahabharata. With some pages carrying the characters of the Indian Independence movement in the backdrop of the Hastinapur, while the others have characters of the Mahabharata playing the role of martyrs of Indian freedom struggle, Mr.Shashi Tharoor has displayed an enormous knack of shuffling that can put even a professional shuffler at a casino to shame.
The patriarch of the modern India, Mahatma Gandhi becomes the patriarch of the Hastinapuris, Bhishma, Subhas Chandra Bose becomes Pandu, Nehru becomes Dhritarashtra, Indira Gandhi becomes Priya Duryodhani, Jayaprakash Narain becomes Jayaprakash Drona, Morarji Desai becomes Yudhistra, Indian Army portrays Bhim, Journalism become Arjun, Diplomacy and Aristrocracy become Nakul and Sakadev and so on. Of course, the great Mohamed Ali Jinnah becomes Mohamed Ali Karna. With the greatest events of Indian Independence and post-Independence becoming the plots for these characters to prove their mettle, Mr.Tharoor has proved to be in his elements with some ribald writing and debauched humor.
Did I say debauched? Yes, indeed it is. When it comes to ribald writing and dull, dry and debauched humor, Mr.ST manages to remind me of another such book I got to read a long while back - ‘Catch-22’ by Joseph Heller. While Joseph Heller had shown some respect to the world war veterans by mocking only the fictional characters, Mr.ST has performed a sacrilegious ritual with this book, tarnishing and taunting every other big name known to Indians in the political arena. In fact, after going through just a bunch of pages, I couldn’t resist the temptation to throw away the book and throw up. Such a pathetic writing and shallow substance, with frequent and abundant instances of what I’d like to decently put as ‘between-neck-and-knees’ humor. Loins, groins and other such obscene references to the female anatomy are found in abundance in this book.
Throughout the book, Mr.Tharoor displays a holier-than-thou attitude with so much of preaching over current state of Indian politics and civil life. Also, the condescending arrogance that has become the primary trait of many of the eminent NRIs is equally evident in his style when it comes to talking about the Indian lifestyle. But, Mr.Tharoor, why do I sense a glaring division between – what one of my sweet friends recently put as – the writer ST and the politician ST? Is it the guilt of the failed politician ST that made you postulate some great ethics to be followed by the Indian politicians? Or, is it that the writer and politician are your split personalities, one being completely oblivious to the presence of the other within you? When you speak so highly about being against corruption, immorality, polyandry and polygamy, I couldn’t avoid but recalling some of the fiascoes involving you and your better-half with regard to corruption in sports, shooting mouth and landing in trouble and other such incidents.
Of course, the book is not all crap. It has a fluid writing style, some amazing creativity and some occasional highpoints too. He makes amends for reviling the leaders and characters throughout, by writing some ambivalent praises for them in the end – I mean the end of the characters in the book. But Indira Gandhi is one person who could receive no such ‘benevolence’. Throughout the book, she has been portrayed as evil-personified. Of course, having been cast as ‘Duryodhan’ (Priya Duryodhani, a play in the name of Indira Priyadharshini), she can expect no leniency, but is it justified? I am not sure. The book may please a few but disappoint many. There is something magnetic about the book and something charming about the way how he has handled two distinctly different phases of the Indian history, fusing them as one. When it ends, you end up being confused as to which event took place when. That is the success of this book. But the irreverent attitude taken towards many of the greatest personalities of Indian history – both past and present – is sheer sacrilege and that, is the downfall of this book!
Ashok Krishna
‘The Great Indian Novel’ is one such a remix, er, book. Mr.Tharoor has picked up two of the greatest periods of the Indian history, that act as beacons of hope and guidance for the current crop of Indians – The Mahabharata and the Indian Independence Movement, shuffled the pages of these phases like one shuffles a pack of cards and once he is convinced that they have been shuffled enough, has laid them to print. He has picked up the lead personalities of the Indian Independence Movement and sent them on a journey across time, by casting them as the lead characters of the great epic – The Mahabharata. With some pages carrying the characters of the Indian Independence movement in the backdrop of the Hastinapur, while the others have characters of the Mahabharata playing the role of martyrs of Indian freedom struggle, Mr.Shashi Tharoor has displayed an enormous knack of shuffling that can put even a professional shuffler at a casino to shame.
The patriarch of the modern India, Mahatma Gandhi becomes the patriarch of the Hastinapuris, Bhishma, Subhas Chandra Bose becomes Pandu, Nehru becomes Dhritarashtra, Indira Gandhi becomes Priya Duryodhani, Jayaprakash Narain becomes Jayaprakash Drona, Morarji Desai becomes Yudhistra, Indian Army portrays Bhim, Journalism become Arjun, Diplomacy and Aristrocracy become Nakul and Sakadev and so on. Of course, the great Mohamed Ali Jinnah becomes Mohamed Ali Karna. With the greatest events of Indian Independence and post-Independence becoming the plots for these characters to prove their mettle, Mr.Tharoor has proved to be in his elements with some ribald writing and debauched humor.
Did I say debauched? Yes, indeed it is. When it comes to ribald writing and dull, dry and debauched humor, Mr.ST manages to remind me of another such book I got to read a long while back - ‘Catch-22’ by Joseph Heller. While Joseph Heller had shown some respect to the world war veterans by mocking only the fictional characters, Mr.ST has performed a sacrilegious ritual with this book, tarnishing and taunting every other big name known to Indians in the political arena. In fact, after going through just a bunch of pages, I couldn’t resist the temptation to throw away the book and throw up. Such a pathetic writing and shallow substance, with frequent and abundant instances of what I’d like to decently put as ‘between-neck-and-knees’ humor. Loins, groins and other such obscene references to the female anatomy are found in abundance in this book.
Throughout the book, Mr.Tharoor displays a holier-than-thou attitude with so much of preaching over current state of Indian politics and civil life. Also, the condescending arrogance that has become the primary trait of many of the eminent NRIs is equally evident in his style when it comes to talking about the Indian lifestyle. But, Mr.Tharoor, why do I sense a glaring division between – what one of my sweet friends recently put as – the writer ST and the politician ST? Is it the guilt of the failed politician ST that made you postulate some great ethics to be followed by the Indian politicians? Or, is it that the writer and politician are your split personalities, one being completely oblivious to the presence of the other within you? When you speak so highly about being against corruption, immorality, polyandry and polygamy, I couldn’t avoid but recalling some of the fiascoes involving you and your better-half with regard to corruption in sports, shooting mouth and landing in trouble and other such incidents.
Of course, the book is not all crap. It has a fluid writing style, some amazing creativity and some occasional highpoints too. He makes amends for reviling the leaders and characters throughout, by writing some ambivalent praises for them in the end – I mean the end of the characters in the book. But Indira Gandhi is one person who could receive no such ‘benevolence’. Throughout the book, she has been portrayed as evil-personified. Of course, having been cast as ‘Duryodhan’ (Priya Duryodhani, a play in the name of Indira Priyadharshini), she can expect no leniency, but is it justified? I am not sure. The book may please a few but disappoint many. There is something magnetic about the book and something charming about the way how he has handled two distinctly different phases of the Indian history, fusing them as one. When it ends, you end up being confused as to which event took place when. That is the success of this book. But the irreverent attitude taken towards many of the greatest personalities of Indian history – both past and present – is sheer sacrilege and that, is the downfall of this book!
Ashok Krishna
