Book Reveiw: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.

Seldom have I showered such praise on any book in my entire life as I have on this novel by Jane Austen. I've read the classic version thrice and watched two movies based on the same quite a number of times each. That's the kind of love I have for Pride and Prejudice.


Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular pieces of literature ever written. Published way back in 1813, it is basically a satire on the societal manners and superficial courtesies prevalent in the English society of early 19th century. If my three reads are anything to go by, it also reveals the undue importance assigned to fortune and inheritance in deciding one's future happiness. The fact that nothing's changed - every such aspect as well as many more are still seen in today's society at an even aggravated scale - makes the novel as fitting a commentary on today's society as on its original target. And therein lies its pull on the readers.

The story, which is very well known, unfolds through the eyes of Elizabeth Bennet, a twenty year old intelligent and lively girl with an exquisitely beautiful and equally benevolent elder sister Jane, and three younger sisters - one of them insipid, another headstrong and frivolous, and the third her shadow, all three equally silly. The girls have an excitable, narrow minded mother who likes to think of herself as a victim of frequent nervous attacks. Her sole aim as shown in the narrative is to marry off all her daughters to rich men and show off their good fortunes in all of their society, far and wide. Their father is an indifferent, cynical sort of man who derives pleasure out of purposefully irritating his wife and though he loves his daughters, fails to fulfill his paternal duties towards them as such. A host of other characters related to the family have been depicted, each in itself a study in character and temperament.

A little into the story enters Mr. Darcy, the fabled male protagonist of this book. He is an interesting character, as handsome as they come, quick to judge people, a social recluse, yet very kind in his dealings with people he knows. Though Elizabeth and Darcy don't like each other much on their first encounter, they are somehow brought together by fate pretty often throughout the narrative, thus being forced to get to know each others' characters in greater depth. As the events unravel, it makes for a tale full of interesting happenings, each shedding light on a different nuance of human temperament, giving us gems of Jane Austen's sarcasm and satire at the inconsistencies within the gentry of 19th century England.

The title of the book is believed to have been taken from a passage in Fanny Burney's popular novel Cecilia. In a way the title signifies how pride in Darcy's character and prejudice in Elizabeth's perceptions of people alienate them to each other's better qualities, and how, in overcoming their pride and prejudice, they come together towards the end.

Does sound like a typical love story when I put it that way, doesn't it? But it isn't just meant for the romance junkies, as would appear at first glance. It is one great piece of classic literature. Widely believed to be Austen's best work, overshadowing her other popular works like Sense and Sensibility and Emma, this novel exhibits uninhibited satire with a free indirect style of narration and such good humor at times, it would be a misery not to have read this book once in your lifetime. A definite 4 on a scale of 5.

There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense.

Do let me know what you think!

P.S. You can download the e-book, in a format of your choice, from here.

The Joys of Nature at My Doorstep

Having a room right next to a garden is like living right in the middle of the garden itself. If there's shade outside, it'll usually be pleasant inside on an otherwise bright sunny day. When it's raining, you hear the rain drops falling on the window pane and the wind howling through the leaves. Would you believe if I said I haven't had much cause to switch on the ceiling fan of my room for the past few days? And at the onset of the dreaded annual event called the Delhi summers, yes sire. The weather outside is just so beautiful and pleasant right now, with all those strong gusty winds filtering right through my window over to where I squat on my bed - I don't have better fitting words to describe the feeling. I figure I'll just make do by describing the delight that living next to a planted backyard/lawn/garden can be.


Though I wouldn't exactly call it a well manicured lawn or a beautiful garden per se, but it was more of a savanna grassland with rocks and shoulder high weeds, garbage and mud (not even soil) strewn around everywhere before we moved in. So I'd daresay we've made good progress. The grasses are growing well, hedges have been planted, and the mango trees are showering little mango-babies all over the place with every gust of wind. The banana bore fruit, we did not care to climb that high to take it down, so it wilted. The guava was, well, not in the best of its health when we came. But it has been treated sufficiently well for it to give such a beautiful silhouette against the blue skies.

The blue blue sky through the green leafy foliage. My idea of a delightful sight.

Ooo..that is just the friendly neighborhood crow. Drops in every now and then to say hello. Though mostly when I'm trying hard to study.

The mango in full bloom. These flowers have long given way to fruit. Mangoes! :D

And that's the humble banana patch. Quite in a mess, but fruiting nevertheless.

Spot the bananas if you can! :P

One of the cute little yellow and orange flowers we've planted. And no, they're not Marigolds.

I often wake up at (or stay up till) six in the morning to the extra loud, distinct chirps of at least five different birds outside, each perfectly in synch with all others. The sunlight of the early morning is actually invigorating. And I've even noticed a trend. Ever since I started sleeping with my head right under the window, I've been waking up early, at my will, and I feel fresher than ever every morning. And this isn't even the placebo effect. Waking up to sunlight streaming into your room certainly makes the day brighter and more cheerful. It's like having my own sureshot fix to untimely blues. Ah...if only I could have my morning light with me all day long.

Aren't things really getting beautiful around here? Or maybe it's just me, having got a personal garden for the first time in my life. It feels good. Really, I've always wanted one my entire existence. And to be able to really enjoy such a fantastic weather as this in a city like mine, a haven like this is all it takes. But like I've said before, wishes do get fulfilled, and how!

Music - The antidote

I've been keeping super busy. Oh, did I just repeat what I said in my last post? I can't help it. Don't even have enough time to think up new things to write. With the college fest beginning tomorrow, lots of work is being done. And with a Haridwar-Rishikesh trip coming up (again!!) in another two days, a lot of other stuff also comprises my to-do list. Like completing college assignments and internal vivas one week in advance to avoid being marked a heartless zero in next week's internals (my college folks are known for their rules-are-rules philosophy!) So much so that I barely have time to write, read or talk to the people in my life.

Things are muddled and making me crazy. The only thing that comes to my rescue in such trying times is music. I have my ears plugged all the time I'm traveling, doing assignments or working around the house or college. It is such a relief; in fact a true delight to listen to the notes, sing along and let yourself be mesmerized.
As I usually like to emphasize, music is the antidote to everything - sorrow, distress, fatigue, tension, jitters. And of course, the perfect accompaniment to joy and celebration.

And so, here I showcase a few tracks that hold a permanent place on my playlist right now (none by Metallica, for a change). Playing on repeat. Perfect stress busters!

1. Old classic, resurfaced.



2. Beautiful memories associated with this song. Do check out! :)



3. And not to forget the super cheeky, instant cheer-me-up number. :D



Pardon me if this post deviates from my usual style. It just felt like I had to post this. :D

A tale of tears

In the darkest hour of the night
breaking the silence of her despair
Did she cry out for help
no one but seemed to hear.

Tears blurred her vision
and opened her mind's eyes
She saw what all along
she'd failed to realize.

As the tears flowed down
and touched the cold floor,
A realization set in
like none ever before.


Gained respect, not friends
Found love, not trust
Solitude was what she yearned for
Loneliness, what she earned.

In dire pursuit of a fulfilling life
she eventually lost her life force
with a cavernous empty void
the sole remnant of her sores.

And as the dawn unfolds
she arises from her stupor
Her face warmed by the sun
her cold heart lying untouched

Wiping her own tears yet again
she rises to face the agony
of living through each trial
that life gifts her every day.

Busy days!

Life's hectic. I have been busy. And not the I-was-busy-so-went-missing-from-my-blog kind of busy. I really don't know when one day turns into night, and the sun shines into my bedroom window and then goes back down again the next night. It is all muddled nowadays. I almost never remember what date of the month I am living in. I somehow determine what day of the week it is by going through my schedule for the day. Haven't attended college for exactly one week now, what with Holi mass bunk and my own tiredness. Not sure if I remember what one is supposed to do there. So exhausted and drained out.

A lot is going on in life. I've started working out. Stretching, slow jogging, sharpening my long-lost Badminton skills. Takes up my evenings, twice or thrice a week. Other days it's just planning, shopping for and cleaning up the new house. Alright, it's pretty old now, given the three months since we moved in. But the final shifting of furniture and other important stuff was finished just about a week ago, so can say it is relatively new again. My days comprise of clearing out cartons and bags of clothes and filling out closets with them, setting up my books in someplace I can never find them, thinking of which cupboard or rack would go where, what color of pillow covers and doormat will suit which room, what kind of table would suit the sofa...you get the drift. Spent the whole weekend scrounging for lampshades, curtains, upholstery and furniture across the length and breadth of the city. Colors, shades, angles, measurements - that is all that my mind AND my vocab seem to be filled with as I try hard to think. I'm going crazy.

But it is satisfying at the end of the day to know that you haven't left a single stone unturned in getting the best of everything to adorn your house. And to know that your opinion even as a twenty year old, believed-to-be-low-on-common-sense lost-in-her-own-world kinda girl, counts a lot in all important matters. It is a huge confidence boost for me. Plus the pleasure of finally getting to have my own INDIVIDUAL room and setting it up the way I want. Whoever said a busy life can't be exciting?

But there's so much pending stuff to do. College files, professional commitments (I am partner in a promising upcoming startup firm, more on which later), and my writing. I just have so much to write about! I've come up with as much as five different topics to blog about in the last one week. Just can't squeeze in the time. Hope to be able to find some more time for myself in the coming days, with the process of finally settling in almost underway. I'll be back with better(read:readable) stuff soon. Stay tuned!

Book Review: A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth. I am in total love with this book. My eyes always brighten up at the very mention of it. And no, I haven’t been paid by the author or the publishers of the book to say this. A Suitable Boy, with a whopping 1350 pages, is undoubtedly one of the longest books in the English language. And to know that I have read it twice, gives one a pretty clear picture of its inescapable pull.

A Suitable Boy may as well be considered a landmark in the 20th century Indian writing. It is not a mere novel; it is an epic in its own right.
Set in India post independence, it chronicles the lives of some 40 odd people belonging to four different yet related families, across the length and breadth of the country, in a mother’s search for a suitable boy for her daughter. Of course the daughter Lata has her own dreams and ambitions that her mother couldn’t agree less with. Together, the mother and daughter travel from city to city in a kind of unique countrywide pilgrimage, pursuing a common goal – the elusive “suitable boy” – in their own different ways. The pages encompass a journey through the narrow by lanes of the fictitious town of Brahmpur, the footwear industries of Kanpur and Calcutta, the lazy streets of Lucknow, and the parlors of the harlots of Tarbuz ka Bazaar. During the course of this journey, Lata meets three suitable boys, each perfect in his own right. Who she picks is the climax, though not at all the main focus of the book, like one would naturally expect.

This novel is a comedy, satire, love story and drama all rolled into one. The real beauty of the book lies not as much in the variety of aspects of Indian life in the post-independence times it covers, but more in the vividness and poignant detail with which Seth describes them. The ease with which he writes about such different genres as Indian politics, urban and rural social customs, crowd psychology, law, medicine, cuisine, cricket and even the technicalities of shoe manufacture and trade – it becomes increasingly hard to believe that he is a full-time writer and not a traveler.

The intricacy and consistency with which Seth etches his characters go a long way in endearing them to the reader. The people in the book are real, though people of our times might not be able to identify completely with them. The book gives an insight into the situation of the Indian society in that era – the superstitions and the various religious rites, the social hobnobbing of the who’s who of metropolitan cities like Calcutta, rural issues, the Hindu-Muslim-Sikh divide, and the political ongoings at a time as critical and sensitive as that post independence. But the best part of the book is that no matter how many serious issues and scandalous events it might shed light upon, they are perfectly interwoven with the story and the characters, letting the reader live them, see them through the witness’ own eyes.

Vikram Seth is a terrific writer, indeed one of the best of his generation. His charm lies not just in the vast research he puts into his writing, but more in the sheer imagination and vision that flows into every word he writes.

It must be clear by now how much I adore this book. But I am under obligation to chronicle the book’s drawbacks too. Well, for one, the length of the book is indeed way beyond the capacity of an average reader. Perhaps that is why the book hasn’t enjoyed mass readership among today’s young readers as yet. The size of the book as well as its slightly slow pace might repel some readers, who look for easy, fast paced reads. Yet, for the true lovers of literature, this book is a must-read and as far as I think, a must-possess too. For, once you start flipping through the pages, it is hard to remain unaffected by the absolute charm of it.

P.S. You can download the ebook (pdf) here.

You gotta take the Bookworm's Word !

Before I explain what this post is all about, I'd like to post an update on my health for those who care. So you read about my twisted ankle and the related frustrations about 20 days ago. I'm glad to be able to say that it's much better now. Except for that little pain that is part of my ankle now, the sprain is almost gone. But you must know me better than to believe that I'm finally fit and fine. Far from it actually. The twisted foot was followed close on heel by a God-only-knows-how-it-happened stomach infection that hasn't gone away even as I write. Loss of appetite, nausea-like symptoms and cold and cough very graciously accompanied, leaving me gastronomically deprived of all my foodie pleasures and orally challenged so as not to be able to even sing for a few days. Gosh...I do sound like a big house of illnesses now that I read what I'm writing!

With that done, I come to the thing that is getting me all excited right now. I've been thinking a lot these past few days. Given the amount of reading I've done in these twenty odd years and the rate at which I devour books, as also how strongly I feel about every book I read, why did I never think of writing reviews on my blog before?!

I personally always prefer to read a decently written review of a book before I shell out money to purchase it. (Reading a borrowed book without a review never hurts, I maintain.) A well written review always makes for some healthy debate and sharing of views among fellow readers.

And so, for none of the aforementioned obvious reasons but purely out of a sudden whim, I hereby introduce another new segment on my blog - The Bookworm's Word.

Under this label, I'll review books that I found to be worthy of my time and probably you would too. Not being one who feels very strongly against any book (they're BOOKS after all), I usually let bad writing slip my radar of criticism (except for really extreme disasters!) I'll strive to review the best of my reads, mostly classics, as first priority, only to launch into wider territories as I proceed. I invite honest feedback on this brainwave of an idea. Let the bouquets and the brickbats flow in!

In the meanwhile, coming back to where I started from - illnesses - I read this really amazing book once and can't help but quote an excerpt that makes a lot of sense to the case in study (being mine).

It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealt with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

I remember going to the British Museum one day to read up the treatment for some slight ailment of which I had a touch - hay fever, I fancy it was. I got down the book, and read all I came to read; and then, in an unthinking moment, I idly turned the leaves, and began to indolently study diseases, generally. I forget which was the first distemper I plunged into - some fearful, devastating scourge, I know - and, before I had glanced half down the list of "premonitory symptoms," it was borne in upon me that I had fairly got it.

I sat for awhile, frozen with horror; and then, in the listlessness of despair, I again turned over the pages. I came to typhoid fever - read the symptoms - discovered that I had typhoid fever, must have had it for months without knowing it - wondered what else I had got; turned up St. Vitus's Dance - found, as I expected, that I had that too, - began to get interested in my case, and determined to sift it to the bottom, and so started alphabetically - read up ague, and learnt that I was sickening for it, and that the acute stage would commence in about another fortnight. Bright's disease, I was relieved to find, I had only in a modified form, and, so far as that was concerned, I might live for years. Cholera I had, with severe complications; and diphtheria I seemed to have been born with. I plodded conscientiously through the twenty-six letters, and the only malady I could conclude I had not got was housemaid's knee.

I felt rather hurt about this at first; it seemed somehow to be a sort of slight. Why hadn't I got housemaid's knee? Why this invidious reservation? After a while, however, less grasping feelings prevailed. I reflected that I had every other known malady in the pharmacology, and I grew less selfish, and determined to do without housemaid's knee. Gout, in its most malignant stage, it would appear, had seized me without my being aware of it; and zymosis I had evidently been suffering with from boyhood. There were no more diseases after zymosis, so I concluded there was nothing else the matter with me.

Excerpt from Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) - Jerome K. Jerome.

Yeah, those parentheses are very much part of the book title! The e-book is available online and you may download it here (look for the little red download box on the right, it took me forever to find it!) This is one of the funniest books ever written. Written way back in 1889, it is a humorous travelogue chronicling one of the author's holiday boat trips with two of his real life friends, while not to forget the adorable little dog too. No slapstick humour, no nonsensical mockery, no sarcasm - this book is the ultimate classical unadulterated comedy that will have you in splits at the sheer incongruity yet funniness of all that happens with these 3 friends. A sure must-read for every literature enthusiast. And for those who think this isn't really their type, trust me, it would be a welcome change from all that &%^$*#*@ stuff being churned out everyday by the bandwagon of 'young and modern' Indian writers led by our dear old management graduate cum investment banker, Chetan Bhagat. You seriously need to start reading something...erm...finer.

P.S. It feels good to sometimes know that you've been missed. I get to hear these words a lot less often, so it's all the more special to know at least some of my readers really notice my absence. Thank you, Furo!