Every book has a history, nothing unusual about it!
Every reading occasion should also have a history, the time set, the mindset of the readers etc etc !
It is important to make a successful bond between a book and a reader. Both should also have a 'history' of falling in love with each other -- that they will not 'make things difficult 'for either when they meet up years later to "work together"
'River Dog - A Journey Down the Brahmaputra is one such compendium! Penned by Mark Shand, a well known British travel writer.
Beginning as a tiny glacial stream in Western Tibet it flows through India and Bangladesh before gushing out into the Bay of Bengal.
Not only the book talks about the river, its glory and its history - there is a unique element as a 'Dog' also accompanies Shand and he adds to the mystique of animal lovers - animals always add a new "dimension to your travels, they take you away from yourself". I think that makes the stuff more readable!
For lovers of northeast, the author throws light on the history of Ahoms and Assam.
What does the word Assam mean?
"Establishing their capital at Sibsagar, the Ahoms named the region Assam which means undulating land" - says Shand.
Check out with Hindi experts - google says Undulating word in Hindi means 'Lahardar' !
Well, English meaning is explained lucidly -- having a smoothly rising and falling form or outline.
Even otherwise, Shand remains an animal lover and in his own style had given books like 'Travels on My Elephant' (1992) and later 'Queen of the Elephants'.
He also had a deep interest in Hinduism and Indian culture and 'Travels on My Elephant' became a bestseller and won the Travel Writer of the Year Award at the British Book Awards in 1992.
Shand further says about Assam and its history - "The long continuance of Ahom rule in Assam was almost without parallel in history. Their vanquished enemies spoke in grudging awe of their bravery, patriotism and indomitable spirit".
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| Blogger in a solitary journey ! |
The next book I will deal here quickly establishes a strong connection with the readers. This book too was hard to put down.
I am talking about 'Always Unreliable: The memoirs' by Clive James, an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster and writer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.
James has a classic oneliner trying to present himself as a sad, funny-man, an observant loner and a dreamy only child whose father died too soon.
"Far from being all done in a day, my own story is of a late developer: one who, deficient in natural wisdom, has had to learn everything by trial and error. In this book, my error continues....".
He also presents a history of a 'genius' and states that a butterfly was so impressed by how far it has come in one day that it resolves to dictate its autobiography ..... The butterfly's only mistake is to imagine itself UNUSUAL (capital to lay emphasis)."
Usual does not mean ordinary, he says.
'Always Unreliable' is autobiographical triology! and the individual volumes were published between 1980 and 1991.
James was a versatile and during the 1970s he also collaborated on six albums of songs with Pete Atkin
Beware of the Beautiful Stranger (1970)
Driving Through Mythical America (1971)
A King at Nightfall (1973)
The Road of Silk (1974)
Secret Drinker (1974)
Live Libel (1975)
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| Clive James poses for a photo with actress Catherine Zeta-Jones in 1999 |
"All I can do is turn a phrase until it catches the light. There was a time when I got hot under the collar if the critics said I had nothing new to say. Now I realise that they had a point. My field is the self-evident. Everything I say is obvious, although I like to think that some of the obvious things I have said were not so obvious until I said them." - This is what James told of himself in June, 1990
(source BBC)
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