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LIFELOVEKUMBH (2011)

by Aporva Kala(Favorite Author)

4.3 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

SRISHTI

review 1: It is not often one comes across a book like this! And it forces the reader to delve deep and find out the mystery of the writings and cherisn the creation in its entirety. Life..love..kumbh.. is such a book. It forced me to look up to it and research what it is all about. Here is what i found...First its colorful, evolving characters...Jorden a Jew from Londonium, of the Maccabees race..the one which fought against the oppression of the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes(175-64BC). he is a regular visitor to the holy town of Haridwar on the banks of River Ganga in search of peace, solace and the mother of his previous birth (Aditi). He is deep into philosophy and Bhakti of the town and befriends Sameer, Annant's cousin. 'Jorden flowing into Ganga' Tweaney, the Brit from Lond... moreon, who comes to haridwar "To clean my cluttered mind ,after i lost my parents in the WTC attack-'poor workers of capitalism innocently attending to daily chores'He marries a brahmin girl Shamistta-"The english tutor and his pupil; the Veda mentor and her Shishya'. He brigs a wry british humor to the proceedings..Annant, the Stephen Dedalus of the novel! he is a rebel , philosppher and an exponent of yoga.Minniee is his love interest, whom he wants to lay , as a form of rebel agains-damn society'. He has lost Nina and grieves for her death.Agastay, the Yogi, who tries to make two ends meet, keeping his daughter, Kierrie and wife ,Aditi happy despite the rising demands and aspirations 'due ot emerging capitalism in India. Aditi, the painter, philosopher, gurumaa, who has a wild affair with agastaya and then moves on to give birth to Kirrie. She paints and wants to explore the markets to supplement her family income. Nicole, a jew, working for BBC, photographing the naked Naga Sadhus and living i Juna Akhara.Nina, the girls who succumbs to the 'Procrustean predilections of a middle class society' and dies. Kashi, the silent folloower of Guru Ekaba..Ekaba, the guru who wants to build up a system of organised religion.Sameer, the doctor, who is annant's cousin. Now about the book: Written in a Joycean style, it tells us the story of a day..13 jan, 2010, now this happens to be the death anniversary of James Joyce, too 'Bloomsday of the east'. The author examines literature, philosophy and spirituality through his characters. However unlike Ulysses, in which Joyce picks up an inconsequential day, here the author picks up an important day and fills his book with wisdom, erudition. He pays homage to Joyce as well as to the literature of yore..Elliot, 'Whose "April is the cruelest month" is used. to Shakespeare and his wife's affair "Anna hath a way away from his" is used. Mermaid in a tavern is mentioned, referring to the cafe the great dramatist frequented. The author invents words like Whorascious(whore vorascious) Sham bridge(Cambridge) to nowhere, Creatiwitty..etc.Now i want to share some of the brilliant lines from the book.."Sameer informs Annant and then tells him that from henceforth, the parts of his speech shouldn't be put under the wrench and martini scanner or chirped upon like a wren and it is his trick at practicing the fine art of writing his prescriptions"."But why have you dear english Jew; whose fore fathers fought to enter the country of the Jhonny Mill, the stuart with a little heart; saunter into haridwar; no fish and chips' counters here; only the Ganga'Jal, the Holy ale-quaff it for the spirit and carry it to the banks of Thames in s holy grail.""He asks her and the ntells her that one's dress tells where one has reached, yours where you are heading to.""Ah! the passion of a creator Good Lord without the cross; come out of this master bait of intellectualism that the mind dangles , my friend, and i treat you to C2H5OH- roll on the bandwagon of alchol, pick up a treatise of human understanding on the way.""And i for potentiality, leading to the possibility of actuality; wood is cold but has the potential of fire and a possibility of turning into ash. The flux, my friend and the four stages of Aristotle superimposed over the ashram system of vedic times.""The phantasmagoric philosophy; ineluctable bride of mediocrity.""As Thoreau writes in Walden; In the morning i bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvad geeta. He goes on to proclaim, that the waters of Walden is mingled with the sacred waters of Ganga.""Why can't one live the life of disappearing? An invisible man, the real superman.""I thought of her as she and she as her. The last time she came, with a drained face, unkempt hairs, unclipped and unribbionned, unwashed and knotted; overnight hairs-a dish fermented. Her clothes were strained with over wear uncreased and unwashed .Shoes without socks. Eyes without lashes. Lips without a smile. Heart without a beat." The author writes with lyricism and gives us a good book which can be re-read many a times. It talks of world peace and advocates a healthy life style..I recommend it to all...
review 2: I am a student of literature and found the book close to James Joyce's Ulysses.... infact the author uses lot of literary references...words like Kinch..(Nick name of Stephen Daedalus in Ulysses), jejune... Upanishads are , it seems, the author's attempt to prove that, his book. life..love..kumbh.., too is a story of a day, but it is not an in consequent day, but is the most important day!!He goes further to use T.S Elliot's, opening of the Wasteland..april is the cruelest month... and says that 'who is it who calls April the cruelest month, damn, i was born out of the loins of my father in the month of April'...he goes on to add that 'i will perform a Julius Ceaserian on him'!!What i mean is that the book is a homage to the literature of yore...At other place he writes Rush Die roll in Padama..' an obvious reference to Salman rushdie and his ex-girlfriend Padma Lakshmi! Maupassant (short story Mishti, the name of the cat) H. G Wells (His shorty story 'the country of the blind is named to drive home the point of conformity)Vikram Seth(suitable Boy and upcoming girl)The author makes a seething comment at falling standards of writingin the present times..and offers an alternative...A must read for all lovers of good fiction and literature.... less

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