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Man of Glass Vishwamitra the Magician Indra and the Gods
offended Thus by aspirations
lifted, — H.W. Longfellow (cited in Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus, p.251)
In the second part, Khair translates/reinterprets Ghalib’s poetry through well-crafted verse. However, it is neither a traditional translation nor an original interpretation. The attempt could be compared to somebody touching up a Van Gogh original with a few strokes and claiming to have created a new version. Andersen’s fairy tales have something profound to convey to adult readers even as these entertain the younger lot. To "represent" these in verse requires a fair amount of imagination and poetic skill, as demonstrated by Khair. After reading this volume, one can’t help drawing comparisons with H. W. Longfellow’s poem on Trishanku quoted above. When original thought, enlivened with cadence, is projected through a grand vision – genuine poetry is born.
Rajarshi is an engineer working for an oil company named Worschroft. His job takes him to different countries like Venezuela, Syria, Qatar etc, providing glimpses of the local life and terrain in different places. The narrative is peppered with politics, ranging from official to ideological. The manner in which Rajarshi meets Marisel in Venezuela is not exactly romantic. Their live-in relationship is sparsely described sans tender moments. The physicality of love scenes tosses traditional romance out the window. There are humorous moments when Marisel meets Rajarshi’s kin in Kolkata, or when she demonstrates how her fair skin and good looks can open doors to the visa-issuing consulates. Although the publishers have labelled this novel as "romance/humour," you’ll enjoy it as a racy travelogue, albeit fictional, tinged with funny interludes and sensual sequences.
This novel’s characters are based on prominent Indian politicos. Most of the political passages are stilted, verbose and boring because the cardinal principle of "show, don’t tell" has been ignored. First-person accounts of the two male protagonists, Aditya (heir to an assassinated Congress leader) and Brajesh (resigns from IAS and joins BJP), resemble press communiqués of political parties in tone and tenor – lifeless and detached with full of ‘I’ and ‘me’. The situations depicted, e.g., a widow being damned as a witch or a bomb blast in a politico’s car, are familiar. The opportunity for dramatic build-ups from such incidents has been missed. The book comes alive in non-political sequences involving Chaitali’s (later becomes a Communist leader) love life; the story acquires admirable tempo – either someone else has written these portions or the author’s forte is sex and sensuality. IWE’s political novels are yet to come of age.
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KHAIR’s
poems draw "upon three writers from across the centuries,
cultures, literary genres and languages" viz., Kalidas, Asadullah
Khan Ghalib and H. C. Andersen. The first part is a version of the
Dushyant-Shakuntala fable, Abhijnana-Shakuntalam. However,
while going through the poems, one could not detect much similarity
with the Sanskrit original, which is a majestic amalgam of drama,
sensuality and grandeur of thought. It is an enduring classic wherein
the portrayal of love – both in union and separation – reaches
sublime levels. Khair’s representation, conversely, is sparse and
stark. A chance meeting with the beau sets Shakuntala ("a Muslim
girl with a Hindu name") off to a journey to opulent London. The
subsequent letdown has been well depicted.
Of
Wooing, Woes & Wanderings
Of
Love and Politics