I just had one chance with you, and I blew it.
Yes.
Can't you.... give me .....another chance?
I would. If you loved me.
I love you so much! I have loved you, and only you, for more than 10 years!!
What you have loved, is an image in your head. You just named it after me.
बारिशें लौट रही हैं
कोई हाथ थाम कर नहीं कह रहा - रुक जाओ।
जितनी आतुरता थी आने की
उतनी ही भेजने की भी है।
कोई कोस रहा है
किसी कमरे में,
"कितना नुक्सान कर दिया!"
बच्चों की हंसी नहीं रुक रही:
"पार लग गए ! अब कोई चिंता नहीं!
बारिश ने सब काम कर दिया!"
माई बाप खुश हैं
"सबके लिए,
कितना कुछ लाती हैं ,
जब भी आती हैं ।"
झुलसती गर्मी में
पींगें पड़वाती हैं
जब आती हैं ।
- बारिशें
घर की बुआ हों जैसे।
QnA (later called Slumdog Millionaire) is one of my favorite books. Vikas Swaroop has the ability to weave multiple interesting tales into one coherent story.
Six suspects is his second book and I picked it up with a lot of anticipation.
At 470 pages, it is not a quick read. But the really unfortunate part is, it could have been. It could have been a much quicker read with some editing.
There are seven intertwined stories in the book. But they do not intertwine very well.
What is most painful is that each story is dragged out - like reaaaalllllly realllllllly stretched out. It is frustrating to have to speed read entire chapters because the author wants to illustrate the same thing... over and over again.
#SpoilerAlert
After the first 2-3 yo-yos, we get the picture with Mohan. We do!
#EndofSpoilerAlert
The loose reference to real life incidents is interesting and amusing. It adds to the reader's enjoyment, but not really to the story itself.
The probability of a coincidence happening in this book is about 10 times more than the probability of the same coincidence happening in anyone's real life. But that's what stories are about - they are about the unreal, so we will leave that aside.
I really enjoyed the parts where the taut storytelling was back. Some of the episodes were narrated through short incident snippets. That was very nice and very enjoyable.
The end of a Whodunnit is meant to be surprising, and so it was. But very credible. Credit to the author for tying it up so well.
But the motives...oh! In spite of the buildup to try and create strong motives in each case, most of the motives are watery and weak. They just don't make sense.
The book was finished very quickly, so it is a page turner and an attention keeper for sure. But with just a little bit more editing, this book could have been so much more!
#SpoilerAlert
The characters are well crafted. Eketi would be the favorite character of most readers (he was mine). I also liked Shanti. Only the naivete of Shabnam in grooming Ram Dulari led to the shaking of the head. Surely, someone warding off starlets like the lion swats flies would know the risk of having a look alike in the house?
Short Review:
Such a gripping book!!
इस तरफ अब मिट्टी पाओ
और, थोड़ी सी और...
हाँ, अब सम हुआ
उस तरफ आँसू गिरा लो!
लो, फिर से गड़बड़ हो गई!
हर बार कहता हूँ कि आँसू
मिट्टी से हल्के होने चाहिए।
हर बार
भौतिक विज्ञान के जाने किस सिद्धांत से
दो ढुलके आँसू
'मिट्टी पाओ' की मिट्टी से
ज़्यादा वज़नी निकलते हैं।
#उदासीनता और उदासी
Let's bury the thought.. just so...
yes... perfect!
And of course you will
shed a few tears, just a little bit...
Oh God! There, you've done it again!
Earth is supposed to be
heavier than water
And yet
under some new laws of physics
Your tears
weigh heavier upon the soul
than the burial mounds
of apathy.
i felt like a little
poetry tonight
so went to the market
to buy some.
but there was nothing
in the flavour
that i wanted.
they were either too sweet
or too sour
or too bitter.
nothing
that perfectly matched
my longing.
so came home
and made some
that felt
just right.
it is the same, i think,
with happiness.
It just occurred to me that we are always looking to be in the minority. When we are outside India, we look for other Indians. Because we want to identify with them.
When we are in India in another state, we look for other ppl from the same region. If we are, let's say, in UP, we look for other people from Punjab or Haryana, and vice versa. If we are an Odiya in Bengal, we look for other Odiyas.
And IF, we happen to be in our home state, we then look for "people like us" - our caste, etc.
This urge to look for the smaller group rather than meld with the larger group - its counter intuitive, no? Yet, it's there. We feel safety in numbers but run towards the protection of an intimate group rather than the perceived power of belonging to the majority.
Why is that?
Any thoughts?
On farmer protests:
https://x.com/vijaygajera/status/1798732995018506738
How Indian elections were manipulated:
https://x.com/DisinfoLab/status/1797529993964360016
https://x.com/AG_knocks/status/1798602515057148016
https://x.com/vijaygajera/status/1798672808450654234
