Ask, And You Receive

QUOTABILITY without reference to the original context" is the key to this dictionary of quotes. T.J.S. George's earlier book of ideas (for journalists) had provided some ingenious ways of deconstructing and translating bland headlines into insightful stories. This one makes a case for Indian audiences, giving them a taste of their own, hitherto subaltern, 'non-English' wisdom. Starting with the enlightened epigrams of Vedic metaphysics and continuing chronologically through the cursive journey of a nation that spoke dozens of languages, hundreds of dialects and countless metaphors, this is a dictionary much awaited. The sad thing is the seepage of tokenism and representation in this outstanding repository. How many of us would equate Jeet Thayil with Tagore? But he's quoted here because he happens to be TJS' biological heir. Then we have the infinitely wise but irredeemably contextual musings of editors on editors (especially on the late Nikhil Chakraborty) which reveal TJS' steadfast but anachronistic faith in the illumined seat. On the whole, this book's worth keeping especially if you are in the business of writing...and reading.