The reason why I love all Shashi Deshpande’s books is because I can relate to her writing so well. Her protagonists though traditional yet are rational and practical. They have a feminist undertone which some what makes the character very real and relatable to me though dwelling upon the past like all her protagonist do is not one of them.

'Dark Holds No Terror' revolves around Sarita, a doctor by profession, an independent women, at least thats what she tries to portray but underneath, there is an emptiness in her which she is unable to fill. Is it not being a good daughter to her parents? or not being a good wife to her husband or failing as mother to children is one of the reason? She is unable to figure out. There is always something she is guilty of no mater what she does but she is not able to grow out of it. Perhaps to search that ’something’, one day Sarita leaves her husband, children, her profession and goes back to her maternal home. Wherein she is haunted by her mother's death as well as by her fathers silence. She dwells upon the past, how in her childhood days her mother used to accuse her of her brother’s death even though she was just a child then and how now she is unable to cope up with her husband and children with that past baggage. Yet, somehow she feels safe here at her maternal home, alone, at peace, out of all the daily chaos, with no one to interrupt her thoughts so that she could come to conclusion. Is Sarita’s journey to find herself is fruitful in the end? May be!

This was terrifyingly dark and haunting novel. Though the narration used to jump from third person to first still it was not odd, i could go with the flow easily. May be i am accustomed to Deshpande’s writing!

Here are few hauntingly beautiful quotes from the book…

"But why is happiness always so unreal? Why does it always seem an illusion? It is grief that has a bulk, a weight, a substance and stays real even after years. Happiness is so evanescent nothing left. Except sensations and feelings."

“People die inch by inch, bit by bit, the agony stretched out until the very last moment. But perhaps it helps, the pain. So that in the end there is nothing but pain. No dead sons, unforgiven daughter and feeble husbands,only pain and desired for death." 

There was a time when it was impossible to think of writing without the help of pen and paper. Proverbs like “pen is mightier than sword” prove how integral a part it was of writing. But in the current times with the invasion of internet things have radically changed. Now-a-days we see writers writing full volume of books without the help of pen and paper on their laptops using different writing softwares. But that has not made the conventional writing method obsolete. Even today it holds the same water it used to hold before the invention of internet.

Writing is not just a simple process of scribbling down one’s thoughts. It is a complex process of constantly going back and coming forth while expressing someone’s thoughts. It involves stages like thinking, writing drafts , editing , proofreading etc. These constitute the life cycle of a document.

Some of the above mentioned stages are better done in the digital medium whereas some others are better done in the traditional medium. E.g. jotting down ones thoughts before actually writing the first draft is more conveniently done in a piece of paper. Even writing the drafts is sometimes preferably done by authors in pen and paper. The first draft where the author allows free flowing of thoughts is often written in black and white. Subsequently keeping an eye on the necessities the first draft is typed into the digital medium. In some cases authors directly write in the digital medium without using the choreographic mode of writing.

When it comes to editing now-a-days authors and publishers prefer the digital medium to its traditional counterpart. While editing the help of several advanced editing softwares can be taken which is not possible while editing a draft in the conventional way. Softwares like grammarly, spelling checker etc. have made the process of editing much simpler and effective. Editing requires free moving inside the text which is again not very convenient when it comes to editing a piece on paper. In the digital medium one can have multiple edits without bothering about the space because while editing one can simply delete a particular word, sentence or a passage and rewrite it as per the necessities.

But proofreading which is another very important stage of the writing process is almost always done in print. Printed paper is always reader friendly. So be it proof reader of any common reader, they prefer reading paperback to reading in the digital medium. in the opinion of readers printed materials allow a fairly pleasurable and easygoing reading compared to the digital medium. And when it comes to storage of documents both digital and traditional mediums are used. Issues like space is better addressed in the digital medium whereas issues of security and longevity is better addressed in the traditional medium.

So yes it is absolutely right to say that in current times the life cycle of a document is closely intertwined with the digital and traditional medium. ln the process of writing keeping an eye on the needs the document has to pass through several transformations from digital to print and from print to digital .

Review of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

        

Lost in a world of utter confusion and restlessness when mankind was searching for some light in the all-pervading darkness of the World, Siddhartha provided a new ray of  hope to the intellectual mind of its time. Having its setting which dates back to the time of Goutama Buddha, the book narrates the journey of the central character Siddhartha from ignorance to enlightenment. The beautiful selection of musical words , the depth and intensity of thought , the constant philosophical undertones and the realistic portrayal of characters make it a pleasure for readers of all ages across the world.

1.                                                            In the book the protagonist is the son of a Hindu Brahmin in India. From the very beginning of his life he realizes the vanity of the material world and embarks on a journey of renunciation by leaving his house to join the samanas, who were the champions of renunciation. But after practicing for several years he realizes that renunciation cannot give him what he desperately craves for i.e enlightenment though he did not exactly know what it is like. So leaving the samanas he goes on to meet Buddha, the enlightened one. After his encounter with Buddha he realizes that it is the peace of mind that Buddha has is his object of search . He also realizes that the teaching of Buddha will never be able to make him attain that blissful state. So after hearing the inspiring words from Buddha he marches forward in his own personal quest of eternal bliss for which he has to pass through the twisted roads of sansara. A long time passes in the world of birds and flowers, sensuous pleasures and pains, and money and vices. Initially, Siddhartha participates in ordinary people’s activities as if they were just games, and views ordinary people as children and laughs at their childish intensity in their material obsessions. He is able at will to return to the inward mental sanctuary of Siddhartha the ascetic and not be bothered by anything for too long. But sure enough he soon gets drawn into the whirlpool of Sansara and all but forgets his real pursuit. Eventually though, a bad dream awakens him and he returns to the river of his childhood and youth utterly shaken and bewildered. He is saved from suicidal thoughts, and then he becomes the assistant of a wise old ferryman who has learnt the art of listening to the river and learning life’s secrets. Here, finally, Siddhartha achieves peace (although there is a brief period of torment when he experiences what it is to be a father). He realizes that life is like a river – timeless, present everywhere at the same time, with no past and present, and when one conquers the unreality of time, one is happy and at peace. He realizes that the wisdom is in accepting things as they are.

 The book has much to offer than just the spiritual journey of a single man.. The dealing of universal problems like disappointment, confusion and absurdity of the material world makes the book appealing for readers of all age groups. The protagonist transcends from an individual to represent the whole of mankind. And through his journey the writer shows the world how each life is an individual journey which can be redeemed only by living first hand not by pursuing different schools of thought.
 Thus the philosophical voices, the depth of thought and the exquisite narration makes it a must read for all intellectual minds.

FEMINISM ; A TERM OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD

                                       FEMINISM              

Feminism as a literary and social movement emerged in the later decades of the 20^th century. Its chief goal was to liberate women from the age old shackles of patriarchy. Though it started in the western parts of the world recently it has pervaded across the world and now is regarded as one of the most important movements this world has ever seen. It considers men and women as two social groups just like bourgeois and proletariat and describes how one group has been privileged through history and the other has been exploited. So its primary end is to put an end to this kind of exploitation. It doesn’t plead for any kind of special privileges for women rather it aims at providing women with the same opportunity that men have been enjoying from the ancient times.

 The antifeminist mind set of the society dates back to the time when The Bible was composed. In The Holy Bible it is mentioned that Eve was made from the ribs of Adam and therefore she is a part of him. From those days women have been considered as subservient to men and have been branded as the second sect. feminism wanted to subvert this kind of a mindset and restore the dignity of women both socially and economically. In the social sphere it pleads for equal rights for men and women and in the economical sphere it demands equality of status and opportunity and equal pay for equal work for both men and women. It has succeeded tremendously in the western part of the world where as the success rate in the third world has been somewhat discouraging. There are several causes of its failure in the eastern parts. Some people accuse the conservative mindset of the people and some hold the illiteracy of the people responsible for the failure. The submission of women to the patriarchal system and the acceptance of the dominance as a natural phenomenon is also equally responsible for its failure.

However in the recent years an upsurge in the consciousness of the people has been noticed which has propelled the movement in eastern countries like India. Now a days women are seen fighting and revolting for their rights and men have also joined hands with them, which is a very good omen. If the movement goes on getting prominence in this speed such a day is not very far when there will be no distinction be it social or political or economical between men and women. Only the cooperation of all the people to make this movement a success is what we need.