India - VS Naipaul

 

Series of Interviews and inferences 

Bombay Theatre 

• Jain Stock broker Papu
• Patil Sena Leader Shiva Sena
• Anwar office worker
• Vithal and Gangsters 
• Raote Sena Leader Shiva sena
• Ghate in Dharvi Shiva Sena 
• Pujari, Saraswath Brahmin
• Script writer from Calcutta 
• Namdeo and Mallika
• Anxiety of Money, Caste Space and the Other 

Secretary s Tale

• Story of Rajan, Secretary to a Politician 

Breaking Out

• Set in Karnataka
• Interviews with mainly people with Brahmin background who are changing their traditional priestly work to other areas - Mostly out of Karnataka State - Scientists, Clerks, Office work, Librarian of Wodeyar - Deviah, Subramanian,Pravas, Kala, Politician Prakash, Mysore and Bangalore Palaces

Little Wars

• Set in Tamil Nadu , Chennai
• Sugar, Mylapore Brahmin, Solitary man and Local Saint 
• Kakusthan, Triplicane Brahmin, his double transformation and his Family 
• Brahmanical Purity 
• Physical, Genial and Mental
• Periyar and rise of Dravidanism 
• Periyar and Gandhi
• Biblical photos of periyar life , Dravidian Iconography and engravings in periyar thidal
• Education of the middle caste and their rise 
• Downtrodden missing out
• Peasant revolts crushed
• Intelligent Brahmin Vs Average Brahmin 

After the Battle 

• Set in Calcutta
• Chidananda - Boxwallah to Film Society 
• Ashok - Boxwallah to New Age Sales and advertising manager
• Dipanjan - Physyics Phd, Ex Party member, part of peasant revolt, Teaches in college
• Debu - Boxwallah,party member, worked with peasant revolt, worked with Charu Majumder, Opposing execution Killings as a Strategy 
• Ambition Vs Idealism Vs Reality
• Marxist Lenninst Fallout
• Naxalite Fall out 
• Nostalgic Communism 

The End of the Line

• Set in Lucknow 
• 1857 Mutiny in Lucknow - Account by Howard Russell, First war of Independence 
• Rashid, Elite Muslim and the pent up anger of defeat
• Amir, A prince, Son of Muslim League Treasurer, Shia,Talks about pain, becomes Reluctant Cong MLA
• Set on Partition Family connections across India,Pakistan and Middle East, Differences between Evolving India and Pakistan in terms of Religion.

Women's Era

• Set in Delhi , background of Women magazine content and audience 
• Vishwanath of Women's Era
• Personal dilemma combining 
• Living like Rats
• Strings from the past 
• Passive Inactions to Foreign rule - Brahmin, Non Brahmins 
• Humiliation of being ruled over 
• Individual desire 
• Need for a Missionary Response to above factors 
• Response in Missionary fashion Contradicting to the Indian way of ever reconciling attitude with the reality or Change or Subjugation
• Aura of Missionary Response similar to Ascetic response 
• Ascetical Ambitions
• Wounded Civilizations Response

Shadow of the Guru

• Set in Punjab
• Lineage and History of Guru and Sikhism
• Bhindranwale and Operation Bluestar 
• Gurtej Singh
• Kapur Singh
• Feeling of Religious Persecution 
• Sufferings of the Guru Juxtaposed with Current day Sufferings 
• Trail of Bhindranwale Killings and Counter Killings 
• Patiala - Amarinder Singh

The House on the lake

• Set in Kashmir 
• Remembering two visits one in 1962 and another in 1988 set during the period for current book
• Kashmir Raja and Shiite Influence 
• Mohd Aziz and Butt of leeward hotel in Srinagar 
• Nazir, Aziz's Son

A Happy Death

First Novel of Albert Camus, Last Published posthumously in 1971.

Read in Tamil, Difficult translation to read (!)

Writing to conflate many parallel readings and reflecting on personal experience.

Meursault, Escaping from Work , seemingly a regular desk regime to earn a living, what shackles and feelings one goes through adjusting to the regime, Through Meursault we start with this initial question and continue following him through out his journey.

In following Meursault, we reflect on How do we reconcile with what we are born around with, Past,Surroundings and Responsibilities ? Should we plan a escape based on some philosophy ? Or without changing much must we face a natural inevitable death ?

Having cut off the past and Surroundings we are left to negotiate with the Family, where inevitably all are apt to be called children, as Meursault calls them. Most beautifully placed home amidst fond children, is it enough for a Man ? 

As fate or freewill would have it Meursault escape again to loneliness to face himself all alone, With economics of simple living taken care, Meursault left with oceans of time to himself without any responsibility, without any additional words to digress, He has to face himself all alone ? Do we aspire to be in Such a situation as Meursault. Meursault still needs company but it does not seem Mandatory.

Having come this far, Meursault faces the Inevitable death with tremendous grace and happiness, He fears disease, for it dampens his freewill, but faces death without any fear or anxiety.

My thoughts waver to many touch points but mainly hover around Escaping, Not opposing the freewilling existence and Religious Introspection.

On Escape, Iam always reminded of Ashokamitran s indicative words that we always escape in the pretext of living. Escape and Freedom are now interchangeable words whose meanings are almost similar yet different.

On Unopposing the burden of existence, wonder if Camus had any connection with JK, JK, A master of words to inculcate a sense of being amongst those who listen or read him.Many passages in this Tamil translation reminded of JK, especially the phases where Meursault comes to term with his own loneliness. 

On Religious Introspection, Camus as we knew cannot be pigeon holed as existential writer alone, for he is surely one, But apart from that, that unbearable pain he feels while reflecting on his loneliness, He opens the door of Introspection for us. From the basic questions on Meaning or Meaninglessness of existence to yearning for a graceful, undisturbing, contented, silent, unconsuming life, we see tremendous similarity in his aforesaid resolve to Vairagya or Sankalpa Part of Religious Introspection.

Having conflated many things similar and dissimilar to relish the text, I wish to read the English Translation of "Happy Death".