Goodnight and God Bless - Anita Nair

 

Another catch from MBIFL2023*, an absolute gem! Whether I have ever felt this related to any book earlier is dubious. It might be my age or life-experience or my love for books or my imaginations that run amok at times or simply me being a woman, whatever be it, it got me glued to the first page till the very last.

My first Anita Nair book, Goodnight and God Bless is a collection of writings, loosely related to each other, a peep into the author’s everyday life and musings. The book opens a window to the world of a person who reads a lot, who thinks a lot about what was read, who lives life passionately and strongly, yet leisurely at ease. Categorised as non-fiction, the excerpts have a touch of genuinity in them.

 

What I liked

-        Birds of the same feather flock together – I couldn’t help but refer to this age-old proverb. The articles and words resonate a middle-aged, passionate working woman/mother/wife/daughter/friend which is quite relatable to the others in the flock as well as serves as a peep window for outsiders. The female flavour referenced is strictly not about the sufferings or the juggling acts played daily by an average Indian woman. Rather its about a woman living her life carrying along her family and friends and words.  Additionally, there are a lot of instances within the book which mirrored my own self, such as:

o   Bed-time routine – living on my mid-thirties, I have also developed a comfortable bed-time routine – a warm bath followed by the application of a luxurious amount of moisturiser on hands and legs and crack-heal gel on my dried heels, an occasional malted milk (like the author), a blanket to keep me warm and a trusted book by my side (whether I read it or not).

o   Choosing a book by its cover – contradictory to the saying of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, be it a library or a book shop I have this unknown urge to choose the book whose cover catches my attention – of course I finalise my decision to take it or not only after reading the blurb, but the initial decision is made in the unholy way; for which I was relieved to read that I am not the only one doing so.

-        The infectious reading spree -  I do not call myself a voracious reader, but I love the company of books, just like the author, I need a lot of them, I need at least one wherever I go, be it a delayed train or a family trip, I have my alone moments, usually early mornings when Hari and Appu are still on their slumbers, I like to escape away to a little world of words. This book and its incredible innumerable references to the books the author has read, re-kindled by spirit and I am on a reading spree, unsure of its life though.

-        Strong language – the author studied literature and her mastery over the language is quite prominent throughout the chapters.

What I did not like

-        Elaborate footnotes - the author has a foot-note or a backstory for almost all the events, which is interesting, but in some points, the foot-notes tend to occupy a larger space than the original text, creating a parallel diversion, which when traversed through makes the readers, even forget the original text.

-        Too many references – the author has undoubtedly read a lot ( a looott!) and she effortlessly refers to these books or characters in between the chapters, which at times, leaves the readers (it did to me at least) clueless being not familiar with that story/situation.

Collectibles

-        I had absolutely no understanding of what it is to age. Of feeling that utter helplessness, of the feat that come to haunt. And if recognising that the selfishness we attribute to the elderly is merely a constant self-preservative vigilance of having to watch for one’s self.

-        About her stand on smells and perfume

o   Somewhere out there they all exist. Time in a bottle. A djinn capable of lying bare forgotten secrets and hidden desires. And even tomorrows

-        About the first book publishing event

o   What if no one turned up? Was the chorus that sang in my head. (And you know your name means nothing to them when they pick your book and scan its entire 200 pages and then puts it down and picks a John Grisham.) So when the first group of people straggled in, I was ready to throw my arms around them and wrap in sheer relief.

Overall a simple, strong book I would doubtlessly suggest to all my friends and family (especially women).

Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra - Ruskin Bond

 “It was a warm spring evening, and the walls of the bungalow were aflame with bougainvillea.” You know it’s a Ruskin Bond book when you see such beautifully crafted masterpieces. My 10^th Ruskin Bond book, his words still inspire me, and makes me want to write more and more.

This book is dedicated to the author’s connection with his soul-land Dehra, before it became Dehradun. A collection of 14 fine chapters describing life in and around Dehra. In addition to the obvious love for mountains and mountain creeks, there are some chapters elucidating young Bonds’ relationship with his father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, and Prem – a help turned adopted family. The writing like his many others paints the emotional connection between him and the foothills.

What I liked

Truth or Not – Some of the incidents like ‘Escape from Java’ and ‘The bar that time forgot’ are shaped with such close references to the author’s personal life that it leaves a dubious reader confused as to whether the story is real or not. But the truth is, it does not matter, the words have the power to create life-like images in our mind, and that is real enough.

Inspiring – I cannot vouch for anyone else, but Ruskin Bond words have always stood as an inspiration for me to write, and I have in fact started with my next piece of writing, which I hope to finish soon.

Collectibles

As mentioned in the beginning Ruskin Bond books are always full of gorgeous depictions of the nature which never ceases to amaze me:

-        It was summer in the hills and the trees were in new leaf. The walnuts and cherries were just beginning to form between the leaves.

While talking about the transformation of Dehra from being a heaven to a heavily ill-constructed concrete jungle Dehradun, the author says these:

-        Thirty years ago, fields extended on either side of this road, as far as the eye could see. The Ridge, an outcrop of the Aravallis, was scrub jungle, in which the black buck roamed. Feroz Shah's 14th century hunting lodge stood here in splendid isolation. It is still here, hidden by petrol pumps and lost within the sounds of buses, cars, trucks and scooter-rickshaws. The peacock has fled the forest, the black buck is extinct. Only the jackal remains. When, a thousand years from now the last human has left this contaminated planet for some other star the jackal and the crow will remain, to survive for years on all the refuse we leave behind.

Reference about his relationship with a somewhat strict grandmother and how, he as a young boy acknowledged her non expressive style of affection:

-        This reference to my appearance did not displease me. Grandmother never indulged in praise. For her to have observed my pimples indicated that she was fond of me.

I have an ideal reading place at my home, the extended veranda over the first floor car porch. During the evenings, when sun is about to set, the golden rays reflect on its grey stone paved walls and fall upon the floor tiles adorned with golden maple leaf images. Sitting on my cane recliner, accompanied by the gentle breeze glancing over my shoulder, a book like this has a magical way to put your heart at ease.

Onam in a Nightie: Stories From a Kerala Quarantine - Anjana Menon

 

I came in face to face with this peculiar book (peculiar by its name and cover) as well as its author during the event of MBIFL’23- (about which I have written a separate blog). A ‘chembakam’ tree beneath which sat three exceptional writers - Anita Nair, Anjana Menon, and Manu Bhattathiri, talking about their writings on Kerala, their home away from home. All three of them shared stories about how they tuned their thoughts to words quite unintentionally, yet beautifully.

Anjana Menon, after learning literature, tread through the paths of business journalism and newsroom wars, currently has setup a content strategy agency. When she talked about how her Covid quarantine and associated days forcefully got her out of Delhi and lovingly ‘locked’ her at home in Thrissur, Kerala, it amused me. Further, when she shared that the book ’Onam in a Nightie: Stories From a Kerala Quarantine’ was originally her informal Facebook journals which were then handpicked by Harper Collins India to structure as a book, that inspired me and wanted to take a look into the book itself.

Unsurprisingly the book did not disappoint me. Divided into 2 parts, the first part covered author’s and her brother’s escapade from Delhi just before the Covid surge, entry to Kerala and the 28-days quarantine – first 14 days of room quarantine and then 14 days of home quarantine. The second part throws light on the post-quarantine days with restricted mobility for the family and general happenings around.

What I liked:

-        Organised writing – The literature academe in her working side by side with the passionate business journalist has carefully curated the thoughts and stories into organised lists, jotted down one by one, giving the readers a comfortable order. The author also does responsible narration of many incidents like the Kerala government system in managing the pandemic, deteriorating air quality in Delhi, American elections, Twitter, and ‘reel’ trends, and what not! The language used is in one word – professional. No fancy writings or literary overload.

-        Keen observation – As expected from a journalist, the author showcases unmatched observation skills, wherein she managed to write 19 chapters, all with different themes when confided within the 4 walls of her room and then home during the room/home quarantine period – quite a commendable task.

-        Humane touch – Rather than heartless news piece stories, all 41 articles have a life in them. The all-round help Shivankutty and his faithful dog Rosie, Stella the counsellor and Sajith a volunteer college student misunderstood for a friendly cop, Maya, a Belgian Malinois, a new addition to the Kerala police dog squad, all of them have been portrayed so seamlessly that we feel like we have met them all. Her stories, be it the nostalgic memories from her Kerala holidays or the more recent pandemic infused one or the busy urban life in Delhi, its all relatable.

-        An entire chapter is dedicated to the majestic Swaraj Round or Thrissur Ground and Vadakkunnatha Temple sitting in the middle. Anyone who has been to the place can see it in its entirety, grass by grass, stone by stone, which was a magical experience for me.

 

What I did not like:

Call it me getting softer or wiser I am finding it harder to ‘not like’ a book or even parts of it. One possible reason I suspect is maybe I have become pickier with my books, so I end up liking most of them.  Who knows, going forward I may omit this section.

Having finished the book, I have one regret though, I missed to get it autographed by the author during the event. Next year, if we both are in, I will make the move and let her know how I enjoyed her train of thoughts.

 

In short, a good light read, does not demand full attention, need not follow an order, its okay even if you resume it halfway after a long time, you’ll  be able to pick it up right from where you ended effortlessly. A definite recommendation for long train/bus travels or rainy evening.