Chennai Corner

A Book Fest
Close on the heels of a book fair, came the launch of several books in the city.There was the debut novel of NRI Kausalya Saptarishi called TamBrahm Bride,a frank and fearless account of the ordeal of "bride viewing", anotherbook through a woman's eyes also by an NRI, mathematician and Mumbai-born writerManil Suri, called the The Age of Shiva (the second book of his trilogythat started with the The Death of Vishnu), a children's book That'show I see things by Sirish Rao and unbelievable-but-true, a travelogue bysix-year-old Archana Sriramulu called My journey to Japan

Barbie Dolls With H1B Visas
Kausalya Saptarishi's novel is cathartic for her. Kausalya, who was"viewed" 35-40 times (mostly by a potential groom's parents) sufferedfrom low self-esteem, had her ego battered and her sense of self taken awayduring her over two-year ordeal before she met Gaurav on a matrimonial site andis today the mother of one-year-old Antariksh. "I'm not at all a feministbut the unfairness of it all bothered me," she says on the eve of herdeparture to Michigan where she lives and works as a  freelance journalist.

Her book--published by Indian Writing, the English imprint of NewHorizon Media-- is semi-autobiographical (her heroine Shalu finds the motherof a prospective groom telling her to use "fair and lovely, another advisessome Shehnaz Hussain herbal product) but tinged with humour and is a racy read.It's easy to see that her inspiration for Shalu's parents came from her ownsupportive parents. She came on her annual three-week holiday with a half-donemanuscript and ended up finishing it five months later with a lot of help fromher parents.

"It may seem bitter but it happens to most girls although some are luckyand it's a piece of cake." She has seen her friends and  cousins gothrough "bride-viewing" and not much has changed for girls in allthese years, she laments. But her book has a happy ending in a Mills & Boonkind of way. What's more, Raj (the man who gets the girl) even gets offered aplum job in India fulfilling Shalu's life-long dream to come home.

She says that although she lived in Delhi (her father was a secretary in thegovernment), hers was a traditional household where poojas and rituals werecommonplace. "We were not crazy about America (she still longs to come backand see her son grow up here) but most of our educated boys were in the US. Wehave no choice." H1B visa--in addition, of course,  to "fair,educated, talented" -- is what all NRI boys seem to want. 

All this brings to mind a scene from the blockbuster Sivaji: The Bosswhere Rajnikanth and a friend spot Shriya and follow her to her house disguisedas civil servants from the Election department. They ask her a lot of questions,even check her out, ask her to sing and dance and she complies. Finally Rajni'sfriend queries, "Your size?" Shriya pipes up, "Seven". Bothmen look mystified when she supplies, "Sereppu" (meaning her slippersize is seven). But all prospective brides, like children, should be seen, neverheard (unless they have the mellifluous voice of MS Subbulakshmi). So doing aShriya is only for the movies. Most others "take it lightly", or"chide themselves later". Only Kausalya gets to write a book. "Ifmy husband has a problem, too bad." After all, in her book she said it likeit is!

That's How Kids See It
Writer Sirish Rao in an earlier book, The London Jungle Book, hadanimals that were a blend of many. "We (he and Gond artist Bhajju Shyam whohas done the illustrations) thought of telling stories with these strangeanimals, but we could not come up with any. So we decided to tell a story ofourselves," he says. And that's why you have Sienna Baba, an artist whosees things differently, and in fact looks different--with paintbrushes forhair, sunglasses perched on his nose and a ring in his ear. While the rest of ussee a moon in the sky, Sienna Baba sees a hole in the sky. And with such adifferent world view, he sees animals differently too--a pig that has peacockfeathers, a blue jay with a lion's head, a deer with the body of a tortoise anda snake with wings. "I just asked myself what I would like to read as akid," says Sirish, who has written 16 books. And kids liked it going by theapplause at the book reading organised by Tara Publishing in collaboration withLandmark. The book has been translated into six languages and has moretranslations in the pipeline.


Gudiya Japan Ki
Although just six, Archana Sriramulu shows off quite a repertoire--many poems,40 short stories and now this book. She must be a prodigy because the averagesix-year-old is so snowed under with school, homework, sometimes tuitions,piano/keyboard, Carnatic/ Bharat Natyam/ painting classes that fitting in halfan hour of Pogo that all kids seem to thrive on is a task.  But Archana'sfather Balaji, an IT professional, and mother Suhasini, a computer scienceteacher, reel off their child's achievements with pride. Suhasini loves to readso much that her parents have apparently spent a cool Rs three lakh buying herbooks.

This Class I student's book has its origin in her visit to Japan where herfather was posted. Says Balaji, "On the way back, she described in detailevery aspect of her trip and so I asked her to write it down. The end result wasoutstanding. After we showed it to the teachers at her school (ChettinadVidyashram) and received positive feedback, we decided to make it into abook."  The school helped in designing the book's cover (which has apicture of a seated Buddha sculpture) and at first only 50 copies were printed,each priced at Rs 300. But after rave reviews, now the indulgent father plans toprint 500-1000 copies and sell it at a lower price. Perhaps I need to check the LimcaBook of World Records or some such to check if  Archana is India'syoungest author. 

And a book on Rajni
In a land where many auto-rickshaw drivers say "Rajni enn ooyaru" (Rajniis my life), many mimic his style and mannerisms, marketing him is a piece ofcake. The latest is a book titled Sivaji: Sindhanai Mudhal Celluloid Varai (Sivaji:From the idea to the Silver Screen) brought out by Kizhappu Pathipagam. Thebook, written by Rani Mainthan, and released recently by the superstar himself,is a compilation of the experiences of actors and technical experts. The book,which was launched at the recent book fair, also has an interview and severalphotographs of Rajni. .