so now im almost at the end of "Shantaram"..the 900th page to be precise.. and let me tell you it took me real long to get there..and let me also tell you that close to the end of the book, im in love with it and i consider that the looong time i spent on it was worth it.
really, it was quite a task just going from one page to the next, when i first started reading the book. i was like what's this guy doing, going from here to there, giving some details, narrating some unrelated incidents..what the hell is the book about? but then i stuck on...i was like if su liked it so much (she recommended the book) and my sis liked it so much (she gave the book to me and wants it back coz she wants to read it again!!..its a massive 936 pages..reading again?)..yeah..so i was saying, if they liked it so much, then there has to be something about the book. and i threw in my anchor and decided to go from one page to the next till i reach the 936th.
i cribbed to everyone and anyone who would listen about how difficult it is for me to read the book coz i cant see a direction to the story and how its not gripping enough and how some gross details are putting me off and i cant find myself going back to the book.
but then i had help..su was my inspiration..she has even made it a point to visit cafe mondegar and leopold's just because they are mentiond in this book. she always wondered how can i not like not reading about my own city and knowing the hidden truth behind this secure and glitzy face that we know as mumbai. she was like, "how can you not find it interesting?" "you didnt like the part about how he meets these people and falls in love with mumbai?" and i was like.."am i missing something?"
su even gave me an assignment..she was like could you keep a bookmark in your book in the form of a page on which you keep writing down all those one-liners. basically those coming from karla. (that girl seems to have a one-liner on everything). and she and even reggie took pity on my poor state and pace with the book and were like..."okay, if you hate the book so much and have to still read it..you can skip his afghanistan trip..that would give you a fair amount of jump".
so i trudged on and reached the 400th miserable page..and then the book got to me..i couldnt read enough of it..i realized that its not a story..its the life of a man..i started identifying with lin..i felt for him..his description of the jail was what made me empathetic towards him and i started seeing him as an individual rather than as a story. and then it was easy..seeing things from his view point was easy..feeling what he felt was easy..loving things he loved was easy..reading about him was all i wanted to do.
and, i have to admit that one man, who stands above all for me, is Abdullah Taheri..man, that guy is something (for lack of words)..im so in love with him.. i have to say that i have a very bad visualization..i cant say how ill look in a particular dress till i see myself in it..but i can see this guy..he is in my head..i can see him appearing out of nowhere to fight the pack of street dogs in the dead of the night (who can not like this guy?)..i can see him dressed in all black, long hair, iranian looks, guns in both hands, standing in the centre of a market, shooting at cops, when he's dying. i must say, i was quite devastated after that...but i was more ecstatic when he came back..short hair, dressed in white this time around.
so, now finally at the end of this book, that i was struggling to complete at one point of time, i am sad..im sad that no longer would i be a part of lin's life...no longer would i spend time with these guys..no longer would i know the subtle emotions of lin's heart, the thoughts going on in his mind, the way he saw these people, what he felt about people and situations, how he intepreted other people's facial expressions, their smiles and their eyes, his pain and his happiness...and his friend Abdullah Taheri. sigh...
really, it was quite a task just going from one page to the next, when i first started reading the book. i was like what's this guy doing, going from here to there, giving some details, narrating some unrelated incidents..what the hell is the book about? but then i stuck on...i was like if su liked it so much (she recommended the book) and my sis liked it so much (she gave the book to me and wants it back coz she wants to read it again!!..its a massive 936 pages..reading again?)..yeah..so i was saying, if they liked it so much, then there has to be something about the book. and i threw in my anchor and decided to go from one page to the next till i reach the 936th.
i cribbed to everyone and anyone who would listen about how difficult it is for me to read the book coz i cant see a direction to the story and how its not gripping enough and how some gross details are putting me off and i cant find myself going back to the book.
but then i had help..su was my inspiration..she has even made it a point to visit cafe mondegar and leopold's just because they are mentiond in this book. she always wondered how can i not like not reading about my own city and knowing the hidden truth behind this secure and glitzy face that we know as mumbai. she was like, "how can you not find it interesting?" "you didnt like the part about how he meets these people and falls in love with mumbai?" and i was like.."am i missing something?"
su even gave me an assignment..she was like could you keep a bookmark in your book in the form of a page on which you keep writing down all those one-liners. basically those coming from karla. (that girl seems to have a one-liner on everything). and she and even reggie took pity on my poor state and pace with the book and were like..."okay, if you hate the book so much and have to still read it..you can skip his afghanistan trip..that would give you a fair amount of jump".
so i trudged on and reached the 400th miserable page..and then the book got to me..i couldnt read enough of it..i realized that its not a story..its the life of a man..i started identifying with lin..i felt for him..his description of the jail was what made me empathetic towards him and i started seeing him as an individual rather than as a story. and then it was easy..seeing things from his view point was easy..feeling what he felt was easy..loving things he loved was easy..reading about him was all i wanted to do.
and, i have to admit that one man, who stands above all for me, is Abdullah Taheri..man, that guy is something (for lack of words)..im so in love with him.. i have to say that i have a very bad visualization..i cant say how ill look in a particular dress till i see myself in it..but i can see this guy..he is in my head..i can see him appearing out of nowhere to fight the pack of street dogs in the dead of the night (who can not like this guy?)..i can see him dressed in all black, long hair, iranian looks, guns in both hands, standing in the centre of a market, shooting at cops, when he's dying. i must say, i was quite devastated after that...but i was more ecstatic when he came back..short hair, dressed in white this time around.
so, now finally at the end of this book, that i was struggling to complete at one point of time, i am sad..im sad that no longer would i be a part of lin's life...no longer would i spend time with these guys..no longer would i know the subtle emotions of lin's heart, the thoughts going on in his mind, the way he saw these people, what he felt about people and situations, how he intepreted other people's facial expressions, their smiles and their eyes, his pain and his happiness...and his friend Abdullah Taheri. sigh...
1 comment:
I liked nazeer..
btw good novel, thanks for writing abt it.
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