Book Review – The Adivasi Will Not Dance, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

India, as we all know, is a land of diverse cultures, different peoples, customs, languages and lifestyles. Some of us get to experience that diversity through travel, visiting places and finding people as they are, relishing the experiences thus gained. For the rest and most of us, books offer a window into that vastness and one resolution that I had for 2020 is to explore the works by regional authors, be it fiction or otherwise. This book was one such a choice and what a choice it turned out to be!

When it comes to writing works of fiction that represent a particular culture, the authors can choose to depict either a rosy picture, portraying their culture as supremely special or they can present the reality as it is, letting us frame our own opinions about the things thus presented. Needless to say, most of the while, it is the works of latter styles that prove to be impactful. Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, fortunately for us all, has chosen the second style.

This book, a collection of ten short stories, will shock you and leave you with haunting memories. Like a raw wound, unattended and uncovered, this collection of stories will shock you, disgust you, invoke pity and a sense of helpless anger. Strangely, this book will also leave you wanting for more. Some stories, like that of Baso-jhi, a orphaned widow shunned by all and sundry, or that of Shubhashini, trying to reach home to her ailing son, will both invoke a sense of deep pity. Some other stories, like the couple who move across the country to Gujarat only to witness the fateful riots of 2002, or the plea of the ageing Santhal tribal who dared defy the ‘system’, will both stoke sentiments of a political nature. Stories of a prostitute who hopes for a better life or the servant maid whose moods change at the sight of money, both cause a deep sense of disgust. Equally impactful are the other four stories, each one certain to induce strong emotions in their own way.

The language is unpolished and yet unblemished. Though the author could have toned down the depiction of physical intimacy, which almost border on pornography, it certainly doesn’t feel like cheap titillation. One negative though is the frequent use of vernacular with no meaning offered either as a footnote or endnote. Of course, one can interpret the meaning in the course of the stories, but still I would have loved to see the meanings shared separately.

There is an undertone of sadness that grips readers of the great Saadat Hasan Manto. A similar angst is bound to grip you as you finish reading this book and that I believe is the success of Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar. A memorable read!

Book Review – Permanent Record, Edward Snowden

What if I told you that you are a potential criminal, a common thief, a shoplifter? Or, that you are someone capable of causing loss of lives by acts of terrorism? Before you start thinking of ways to bash me, let me tell you this – we are treated like potential criminals in our day to day lives and yet we have all learnt to live through that instead of boiling with indignation. When you enter a departmental store, you handover your bags and take the baskets provided there. When you enter a shopping mall, you are subjected to the waving of the wand – metal detectors. Worst of all is air travel – you have to remove your shoes, belts and jackets. Your luggage is scanned thoroughly and, what is worse, you are made to undergo the ‘waving of the wand’ along with your person being frisked!

Of course, we all understand the reasons behind such security procedures and for the sake of the greater good – public safety – we have learnt to comply with those rules. But, there is supposed to be a line drawn between allowing oneself to basic scrutiny and keeping one’s dignity intact. For example, we are willing to allow our bags to be scanned at shopping malls, metro stations and airports, but will we tolerate the security personnel tailing us all through our presence at these places, watching our every move and marking our every word?

Now, imagine the social media, your chat applications, your blogs and the whole web. What if I told you that there are people who watch your every move and record whatever you click, write, like, repost or simply gaze at for more than a normal amount of time? Will you still feel alright about it or will you feel indignant? Nope, I am not talking just about cookies and trackers that websites like Amazon or Facebook use to track our behaviors and preferences, in order to make money by showing us customized advertisements. I am talking about organized, serious large-scale surveillance. The scale in which your movement is monitored through CCTV cameras, your phone calls are listened to, your chat texts are read, your web browsing history is for the whole world to see, your personal, intimate photos are not really personal and intimate, your banking transactions are scrutinized with more attention than you yourself would pay, and your current location in the world is pinpointed with precision. Even a simple smartphone user will know that these are not impossible imaginations. Would you prefer to subject yourself to such close scrutiny day in and day out?

Edward Snowden is the one who put his life on line to tell the world that this kind of mass surveillance is possible and that his country is actively pursuing it on an unforeseen, global scale. Once a part of some of the most secretive organizations in the word – the CIA & the NSA – he is now being hunted by those very organizations for the ‘crime’ of having leaked ‘top secret’ documents on America’s surveillance practices. He is charged for acts of espionage and branded a ‘traitor’ by many of his own countrymen for whose sake he decided to take the risk. This comprehensive autobiography tells the tale of that brave whistleblower, right from his ordinary childhood to his current exile in Moscow.

Snowden describes his childhood, his ancestry and how his parents had been an influence in his life choices. His growth as a curious but not so pedagogic youngster, his transitioning into a patriotic youngster who unsuccessfully attempted to join the army, his eventually taking up a job at the CIA is all depicted vividly. Through these pages, Snowden gives a glimpse of his formative years – emotional as well as ethical. The book gathers pace from the chapter where Snowden starts recounting his unease at the government’s disrespect for individual privacy and intrusion into common man’s lives in the form of mass surveillance. The last couple of chapters act as worthy climax to a well-written book. Especially the one where Lindsay (his girlfriend who went on to become his wife) recounts her experience in the hands of the government, after Snowden went public with his findings, feels like a Hollywood movie. Well-paced and very well narrated.

These may be the times where we take pleasure in flaunting the details of our personal lives in social media – our meals, our vehicles, our travels, our possessions, our passions or, worst of all, our bodies. But it is still about our volition, about what WE choose to flaunt and not what others want to peek at.

We wouldn’t prefer someone peering into our phone screens or looking over our shoulders at the ATM. We wouldn’t want someone to tail us throughout our daily lives – following us everywhere we go, making a note of where we went, whom we spoke to, how long we spoke, what we wrote and what we got in reply. With governments surreptitiously gearing up for such capabilities, dystopian days are not far ahead. Heroes like Snowden help us fight such unethical governments and corporates, by first making us aware of such possibilities and then by providing us with tools to fight such cyber-slavery.

This is a book that you must read and spread word about!

What’s Your Cocoon?

In insects, cocooning is a process whereby they mature, grow from being soft, vulnerable beings to becoming what they are truly destined to be. In humans though, cocooning is a process whereby the reverse occurs. From being innocent, loving, pure beings to obstinate, paranoid, bitter, self-doubting, hurtful humans, we are transformed by cocoons of our own experiences.

We cocoon ourselves not to grow and evolve, but to protect and distance ourselves from all that we assume to be harmful, bad or simply anything that we are not comfortable with. We weave our cocoons with bitter emotions caused by failures, frustrations and disappointments that stem in one way or the other from love, life, work, business, relationships, society and what not!

Unlike the silky strands of a butterfly’s cocoon, our sheaths are all made of self-doubt, paranoia, hatred, negativity, intolerance, bitterness and enmity, each of which is an unbreakable strand like steel. Few, if ever, break out of their bitter cocoons and be what they are destined to be truly.

Alas, if only we could all become aware of the strands that form our cocoons!