In brief -DAWN - Books and Authors; June 03, 2007

June 03, 2007

In brief

A Word from the Wise
By Rosemarie Jarski
Ebury Press.
Available with Paramount Publishing Enterprise,
152/O, Block 2, PECH Society, Karachi-75400
Tel: 021-4310030
paramount@cyber.net.pk
ISBN 0091909201
592pp. Rs545

THIS excellent book of quotes deserves the highest of praise. A useful yet hilarious collection it surely is, and it deserves acclaim as one. Flipping through it, one can find words of wisdom on every page. Just by randomly opening it, I found this gem of Pat Fitzpatrick’s: “When I rang up a restaurant to ask if they had wheelchair access, I was told that they accepted all major credit cards.”

Brilliant little snippets like this may be rare in our routine workaday lives but with this handy compendium, they became easier than ever to find. Organised topic by topic by the meticulous Rosemarie Jarski, the only criticisms one can find for this book are that it is heavy, and it came out too late. Any and every topic is addressed in this selection; one admires Jarski for being so painstaking and thorough with her research.

Now, one might think that quotes are not that necessary. I hasten to disagree. Quotes can be handy in almost any context, from trying to impress one’s friends to making a speech. Of course, the former is the more common reason. Yet pretentiousness is not all that this book can enable. A quick flip through it can alleviate boredom, as well as provide a good laugh. It can also help one build one’s general knowledge; by addressing topics, and different shades of opinion, as diverse as attraction and terrorism, drugs and jazz, this book really is an excellent way for anyone to widen their intellectual horizons. And it’s hilarious too.

This is a collection accessible to everyone; whether the reader is 18 or 80, six or 60, it is sure to garner a laugh and provides him/her with information or advice they might need or not have known. For example, did you know that Simon Jenkins believes that “three things are certain in life: death, taxes and more meetings.” Or that, according to Karl Kraus, “people will believe anything if you whisper it?” This book is a fountainhead of helpful witticisms, bound to appeal to all sorts of readers. — Akbar S. Ahmed

Book of Rachel
By Esther David
Viking/Penguin India
www.penguinbooksindia.com
ISBN 0-67-005866-1
197pp. Indian Rs295

IN the literary tradition of Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate (1992 ) and Marsha Mehran’s Pomegranate Soup (2005), Ahmedabad native Esther David has cooked up the often mouthwatering Book of Rachel which lovingly depicts India’s fast diminishing Bene Israel (Jewish) community through its culinary arts. Food and its preparation is a central feature of any culture and the genre attempts to present the lives of women through their experience of cooking. The many intriguing recipes and exotic spices reveal the sensuality inherent in what is generally dismissed as mundane women’s work.

The title of the book has an ‘Old Testament’ feel to it; encouraging one to expect a narrative involving one of the heroes or prophets of the ancient Israelites. Indeed, the novel’s protagonist Rachel is something of a heroine. A widow, she lives alone in her house in Danda, near Mumbai, and diligently cares for the synagogue which, due to lack of a cantor and rabbi, has fallen out of use. Her two sons and a daughter, like other young Bene Israel in India, have immigrated or “made aliyah” to the Promised Land. Even some older members like Isaackjee “a shamash who did odd jobs around the synagogue and was a walking, talking encyclopedia of the Jewish community” have left. Fiercely independent, she resists their efforts to convince her to follow them. She is also loyal to her forefathers and husband who are buried here and determined to protect the community in India, among whom the sight of the Chanderi-Underi monument erected at Kehim Beach as a tribute to the ancient myth about the origins of the community — seven couples survived a shipwreck — invokes an emotion similar to that inspired by the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Through the course of the narrative Rachel recalls her days as a young teenage bride when she dreaded having to prepare a recipe involving Bombay duck or bombil which is actually an eel-like fish and once spent a day in a tamarind tree eating its sweet-sour fruit “till it made her teeth tingle”. Then as a young mother when she resorted to rubbing her son’s thumb with bitter meethi to stop him from sucking it. Rachel’s commitment to tradition does not in any way diminish her ingenuity or sense of self-preservation, as illustrated by the time she won back her fiancé while frying Puranpoli (sweet dough) on Purim in memory of the liberation of Persian Jews. She displays the same determination in fighting to save her beloved synagogue from greedy land developers.

Though the novel is deeply imbued with religion, history and culture, food remains the central theme throughout the narrative. Each chapter starts with a detailed recipe, sometimes simple other times elaborate, including recipes for Sown Kadhi, Kanavali, Saat Padas, and Tandlya Chi Bhakhri. The author has presented interesting bits of information regarding kosher cuisine — for example, how coconut milk is a useful substitute for diary milk which Jewish dietary law prohibits from being cooked with meat — as well as elaborate descriptions of preparing for an Indian Passover or Pessach, and the communal preparation and presentation of a fruit-based malida as an offering of thanksgiving. — Saima Shakil Hussain

Incantation and Other Stories
By Anjana Appachana
Penguin India
www.penguinbooksindia.com
ISBN 0-14-310091-2
178pp. Rs195

Anjana Appachna’s Incantation and Other Stories is a compilation of stories that emulate Asian culture. They depict the changes in circumstances in the lives of the characters, who although fictitious, can be related to.

The book comprises eight interesting stories, six of which deal with women-related issues and the remaining two discuss the problems and hardships faced by the common man. The indifference of men to the plight of women has also been highlighted.

Appachana’s zeal for writing about the problems faced by women and how they eventually hold themselves together despite all the hindrances around them is evident through the characterisation and subject matter of her stories. On the one hand, she paints a picture of a woman who is concerned and affectionate like a mother, responsible and caring like a wife and loving like a girl child and on the other, she portrays a woman who finds herself weak against a male dominant society, who feels helpless because her frailty does not allow her to raise her voice against injustice and she has to live with the fear of the consequences she will have to face if she does eventually rebel.

The two stories which centre men, depict the politics and manoeuvring which develop inside the working place. The remaining six depict women and their hardships. They endure all the pain society inflicts upon them to make up for the sin of being born. What’s unique about the way the author crafts her plot is that it never gives a pessimistic feel. No matter how cruel and distressing the content may be, it still makes for inspirational reading.

The story ‘Incantation’ literally numbs you as you read along. It is a sad and moving story of Sangeeta, a 20-year-old woman who is raped by her brother-in-law just two days before her wedding. The devastating abuse doesn’t end there and continues on an everyday basis after Sangeeta’s husband leaves for work. Disgusted, disgraced and too ashamed to tell what is happening to her, the young bride commits suicide but not before castrating and then killing her abuser, so he may not abuse yet another.

‘Incantation’ embodies the realities of the detrimental Indian culture, its values and family obligations that have been imposed on women and young brides — the dire circumstances a woman has to face and endure if she goes beyond her assigned boundaries.

Another story ‘Bahu’ provides insight into the life of a girl married into a family full of intrigue, ill-feelings and hatred — a place where she has to quietly and obediently carry out all her duties without complaining. She is expected to stay within the circle that her in-laws have chalked out for her, both physically and psychologically. The way a typical Asian girl is expected to give in to the atrocities that her in-laws inflict upon her is what this story is all about.

At times bitter, at times optimistic, Anjana Appachana’s work is no doubt subtle and intrinsic. It is a worthwhile read with a smooth flow. The inner turmoil of almost all the characters has been brought out and dealt with. One may return the book to the shelf after reading it, but it will take a while to get off one’s mind.— Benazir Murad Baloch