Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Story of my Assassins

 
It wasn’t on any of my must-buy lists. But I happened to buy The Story of my Assassins yesterday thinking it could be significant. A book by Tarun J Tejpal. With this, of course, my New Year’s resolution comes into sharper focus. Buying two books from my monthly salary, let me tell you, is my New Year's resolution. Another book I bought is The Power. 

I started reading The Story of my Assassins before I got home. I stopped right there on a track. On my way to home. I left unattended my calls and text messages. With great interest, I sat reading oblivious to cars and noises and pedestrians walking by. And I read. I read, and sumptuously wandered across the terrains of words, across the terrains of ideas and moments.

As I leafed through the pages, I fell in love. For the beauty of the story. For the bravery of author. For the play of words. Mesmeric! Tarun Tejpal exerts his gorgeous heart into every sentence. He brilliantly portrays the Indian rural life, nature and landscape with resilient imagination and mesmeric words. Through his brave protagonist, he despises the mess of a police case, of courts and lawyers.

Tarun, in no doubt, is a smart writer with a laconic sense of humour. He laughs at narrow-minded bureaucrats and the shallow decorativeness of rich people in India. I’d love to read out a line from this most moving, most meaningful book,
To those the gods wish to make into fools they give wealth in excess.
The book is witty, sad, heartrending and above all it’s honest. There’s menace, humour, love, hatred, excitement and happiness in each sentence. This book makes you laugh in almost every sentence.

Continuing the walk, there, again, I kept reading. And I felt smarter than I was, as if I were in a company of a wise man. I nodded, duly, in each sentence, each argument and each justification he writes. In no time at all, this book could connect me to him. Ah, there are many things we’ve in common.

Most surprisingly, Tarun knows wonderful words with which he could express complex ideas and wisdoms. His ideas and wisdoms are affirming, real and honest. And importantly, each idea and wisdom carries remedy for life’s problems. I share this below:
In any case, you must never fight a woman if you can avoid it. Bring her to your side, go over to her…Listen to her, go along with her.
And this paragraph jumped at me,
When the guru sends his disciple to empty the ocean with a mug, he is not teaching him the virtue of perseverance, but the lesson of futile action. The stupid disciple empties the ocean for the rest of his life and finds peace; the intelligent disciple finds wisdom, throws away the mug, moves in search of more. The disciple must not only perform the task, he must also contemplate the task. We have to find out truth ourselves…The guru can show you the path but you have to walk it. Truth cannot be taught, truth must be experienced. 
It’s a beautifully structured book. I assure you that it’s a book that can nourish a hungry mind for a week. And honestly, I want to kneel and press my head to the ground, saluting its splendor and colourfulness. Buy this book. Read it. And you’ll realize this is no exaggeration. 

3 comments:

  1. Can I borrow that book please?
    RSVP to phuntshoo@gmail.com

    Male
    Thimphu

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  2. Way too Encouraging. I would love to enjoy the company of Tarun as well.
    Thanks for sharing your valuable books with us, Rikku Sir!

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