Ardha Matsyendrasana
Imagine that fish motionless on a lonely shore
listening to Shiva whispering the secrets of yoga
into Parvati's ears. The burden is no longer
the goddess' alone; the fish suddenly gains
divinity, pronounced by Shiva himself
as Lord of the Fish, to spread on earth
a rarefied mystery.
A path opens on earth beckoning all
to trust it to take them to the answers
they seek.
Oh, to be that fish! To let the spine melt!
My right hand wrapped around my left knee
moves further toward the outer reaches,
so my torso aided by the momentum
of my left hand swings further left, until
I feel utterly wrung.
I surrender to Matsyendra, my mortal
effort replicating a fraction of his amazing dexterity,
while desiring his natural, chosen blessedness.
Ten Manitoba seniors have contributed to this collection of memories. Born in Manitoba, different parts of Canada or different countries of the world, they record what life was like when they were children. Their memories are testimony to the diversity that is Canadian culture. As one of the writers has said, Our past is prologue to our grandchildren's future.
Harihar Arora: second-generation north Indian in Madras, museum curator, indifferent husband, indulgent father -- and thief. Desperate to meet his beloved daughter's wedding expenses, the otherwise honest Harihar steals a rare gold coin minted by Mughal Emperor Jahangir and pawns it, with every intention of returning it after the wedding. But when he finds himself in a position to redeem it, he learns that it has been melted by the pawnbroker. What follows next forces Harihar to readdress his place in the world, and in his own marriage. Beneath the deceptively simple surface of a story about an ordinary man in a rather extraordinary fix, are questions about the workings of karma, causality and the power of art, that offer profound matter for debate.
Sam is 'The One' for Mira. Mira is Sam's better, er, half. A faithful ex, an unfaithful wife -- both ferociously ovulating -- and a man who has the worst of both worlds. A distinctive understative style, humorous and witty writing. T he characters are funny and impactful at the same time. The rampant clawing desperation makes for a good read.
Life Happens, and Death Too is the second collection of stories and poems by Latika Mangrulkar that focus on issues of trans-national identity. The men and women who inhabit these thematically connected stories and poems belong to different generations. As they try to maintain their balance in the new world, universal dilemmas of control, desire, integration and displacement preoccupy them. A number of these contemporary tales ripple with undercurrents of Indian mythology. Every section of the book links verse and prose, moving the reader across varied urban, suburban, local, and trans-national landscapes. The stories happen on multiple levels, blending Western realities with echoes of Indian sensibilities, creating a distinctive rhythm. Life Happens in strange ways, but we see that death does too, as these characters experience tragic, comic, at times even surreal moments.
Set against the backdrop of conflicting cultures, political turbulence, and a deep sense of belonging to the contradictions that form Malaysia, Agni is struggling to comprehend her relationship with the land she calls home. Abhik - her childhood friend and new lover, is supportive of her quest to unbolt dark secrets from her past about her mother's death, but the only man who can answer her questions is Jay Ghosh - for he still wears her mother's demon's teeth around his neck. Jay had been there with Shanti the evening she died. When Jay lands in Malaysia after thirty years - summoned by Colonel S, his mentor and father figure - Jay realises, as does Agni, that nothing is as it seems. Each must fight larger demons, for there are greater things at stake.
Thunder Demons was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009.
A ringside view of an eventful period in Goa?s history - its transition from being a Portuguese colony to becoming Indian, this is the tale of a land caught between the irresistible pull of India and the immovable object that was Salazarist Portugal. The book is based on the reminiscences of I.A.S. officer and diplomat Prabhakar Kamat. In the late 1940s, Prabhakar Kamat abandons the somnolence of Goa to travel to Europe for higher studies. In Lisbon, his adventures navigating the minefield of culture shocks are tempered by encounters with revolutionaries from the larger Ultramar Português. He returns to a Goa still under colonial rule, with India?s patience wearing thin as Portugal refuses to budge from its Indian enclave. A blink-and-you-missed-it Army action in 1961 lets Goa join India and plunge into its hectic, colourful democracy. Goa?s date with self-rule galvanises Portugal to follow suit.
The wealthy and erudite Indian businessman Byron Mallick is the sun the other characters orbit around?particularly the narrator, Max Gate, an American writer living in xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" / Britain. But Max?s love for Ela, Byron?s married ward, and the mysterious death of her cousin Damini, a journalist and activist, create fissures that will help destroy this little universe. This beautifully crafted novel weaves the past and present together to create a richly layered narrative that reflects on the subtle differences between love and desire, morality and values, sin and crime, friendship and loyalty, memory and truth.
Divorcée Jasmine Mistry is intent on restarting her life when she gets the chance to do just that. A call from the past brings her home to Shelter Island, a green dot in the middle of Puget Sound, to run her beloved aunt's bookstore. The familiarity is heartening -- the rocky beaches, pewter skies, country boutiques, and above all, Auntie's Bookstore, nestled in a quaint Queen Anne Victorian, and believed, not incidentally, to be haunted.
With that knowledge, Jasmine embarks on a mystical journey, urged along by her quirky family, guided by the highly emotional spirits of long-dead authors, and moved to heal her broken heart when she falls unexpectedly in love with an enigmatic young stranger. He knows about blurring the lines between truth and fantasy. In redefining the meaning of everlasting love, he urges Jasmine to reinvent herself in a place she calls home. All she has to do is close her eyes and say yes.
In the year Twix and Smash were invented and Englebert Humperdinck was top of the charts, Dilly was born into the chaotic Shah family household in Bradford, West Yorkshire. One of several children, she grows up spirited and mischievous, not prepared to be the dutiful Muslim daughter her parents demand of her. Never out of trouble, she reads the Koran lying down, recites lewd Northern rhymes, rips up the neighbour's garden and keeps a goat for a pet. Her dad has a ferocious temper, but lets off steam playing cricket for the York Shah Terriers. Her melodramatic mum's favourite pastime is spying on the neighbours and organising her children's marriages. With the extended Shah family - including Dilly's disgraced Aunt - nicknamed 'Auntie Climax' - all sharing one house, the scene is set for a cat fight. Against a backdrop of casual 1970s racism, tough schools and a colourful working class neighbourhood, Dilly mounts her one-girl campaign to be an individual. Throughout it all her little sister Egg is her best friend, but when she gets a boyfriend and their father finds out, all hell breaks loose and, once again, DiIly is the one to get the blame.
Raman is a fast rising marketing executive at a global drinks company; Shagun is his extraordinarily beautiful wife. With his glittering future, her vivid beauty, and their two adorable children -- eight year old Arjun who looks just like her and two year old Roohi who looks just like him -- the pair appear to have everything. Then Shagun meets Raman's dynamic new boss Ashok and everything changes. Once lovers and companions, husband and wife become enemies locked in an ugly legal battle over their two children. Caught in their midst is the childless Ishita who is in love with the idea of motherhood. Custody is the riveting story of how family-love can disintegrate into an obsession to possess children, body and soul, as well as a chilling critique of the Indian judicial system. Told with nuance, sympathy, and clear-sightedness, it confirms Manju Kapur?s reputation as the great chronicler of the modern Indian family.
Aparajita, Deepanita, Aniket and Siddharth have much more in common than just being college mates. All of them either lie or hide things from their parents and want total freedom to follow their dreams. However, destiny has other plans for the four youngsters. They encounter drug peddlers who intend to use them as pawns for safely supplying drugs. Their journey from here on makes them question their values, beliefs and desires.
Meena Kandasamy writes angrily, often eloquently, about the politics of the body and caste in contemporary Indian society.